Editorial Type:
Article
Article Type:
Research Article

Assessing Extratropical Influence on Observed El Niño–Southern Oscillation Events Using Regional Coupled Data Assimilation

Feiyu Lu Nelson Institute Center for Climatic Research, and Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, Wisconsin

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Zhengyu Liu Atmospheric Science Program, Department of Geography, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio

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Print Publication:
01 Nov 2018
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-17-0849.1
Page(s):
8961–8969
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Abstract

The extratropical influence on the observed events of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) variability from 1948 to 2015 is assessed by constraining the extratropical atmospheric variability in a coupled general circulation model (CGCM) using the regional coupled data assimilation (RCDA) method. The ensemble-mean ENSO response to extratropical atmospheric forcing, which is systematically and quantitatively studied through a series of RCDA experiments, indicates robust extratropical influence on some observed ENSO events. Furthermore, an event-by-event quantitative analysis shows significant differences of the extratropical influence among the observed ENSO events, both in its own strength and in its relation to tropical precursors such as the equatorial Pacific heat content anomaly. This study provides the first dynamic quantitative assessment of the extratropical influence on observed ENSO variability on an event-by-event basis.

Current affiliation: Program in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Princeton University, and NOAA/Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, Princeton, New Jersey.

© 2018 American Meteorological Society. For information regarding reuse of this content and general copyright information, consult the AMS Copyright Policy (www.ametsoc.org/PUBSReuseLicenses).

Corresponding author: Feiyu Lu, feiyu.lu@noaa.gov

Abstract

The extratropical influence on the observed events of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) variability from 1948 to 2015 is assessed by constraining the extratropical atmospheric variability in a coupled general circulation model (CGCM) using the regional coupled data assimilation (RCDA) method. The ensemble-mean ENSO response to extratropical atmospheric forcing, which is systematically and quantitatively studied through a series of RCDA experiments, indicates robust extratropical influence on some observed ENSO events. Furthermore, an event-by-event quantitative analysis shows significant differences of the extratropical influence among the observed ENSO events, both in its own strength and in its relation to tropical precursors such as the equatorial Pacific heat content anomaly. This study provides the first dynamic quantitative assessment of the extratropical influence on observed ENSO variability on an event-by-event basis.

Current affiliation: Program in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Princeton University, and NOAA/Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, Princeton, New Jersey.

© 2018 American Meteorological Society. For information regarding reuse of this content and general copyright information, consult the AMS Copyright Policy (www.ametsoc.org/PUBSReuseLicenses).

Corresponding author: Feiyu Lu, feiyu.lu@noaa.gov
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