Effects of stratospheric variability on El Nino teleconnections
Advanced Search
Select up to three search categories and corresponding keywords using the fields to the right. Refer to the Help section for more detailed instructions.

Search our Collections & Repository

For very narrow results

When looking for a specific result

Best used for discovery & interchangable words

Recommended to be used in conjunction with other fields

Dates

to

Document Data
Library
People
Clear All
Clear All

For additional assistance using the Custom Query please check out our Help Page

i

Effects of stratospheric variability on El Nino teleconnections

Filetype[PDF-7.62 MB]


Select the Download button to view the document
This document is over 5mb in size and cannot be previewed
Details Supporting Files You May Also Like

Details:

  • Journal Title:
    Environmental Research Letters
  • Personal Author:
  • NOAA Program & Office:
  • Description:
    The effects of the tropical Pacific El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon are communicated to the rest of the globe via atmospheric teleconnections. Traditionally, ENSO teleconnections have been viewed as tropospheric phenomena, propagating to higher latitudes as Rossby waves. Recent studies, however, suggest an influence of the stratosphere on extra-tropical ENSO teleconnections. The stratosphere is highly variable: in the tropics, the primary mode of variability is the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO), and in the extra-tropics sudden stratospheric warmings (SSWs) regularly perturb the mean state. Here, we conduct a 10-member ensemble of simulations with a stratosphere-resolving atmospheric general circulation model forced with the observed evolution of sea surface temperatures during 1952-2001 to examine the effects of the QBO and SSWs on the zonal-mean circulation and temperature response to El Nino, with a focus on the northern extra-tropics during winter. We find that SSWs have a larger impact than the QBO on the composite El Nino responses. During El Nino winters with SSWs, the polar stratosphere shows positive temperature anomalies that propagate downward to the surface where they are associated with increased sea-level pressure over the Arctic. During El Nino winters without SSWs, the stratosphere and upper troposphere show negative temperature anomalies but these do not reach the surface. The QBO modulates the El Nino teleconnection primarily in winters without SSWs: the negative temperature anomalies in the polar stratosphere and upper troposphere are twice as large during QBO West compared to QBO East years. In addition, El Nino winters that coincide with the QBO West phase show stronger positive sea-level pressure anomalies over the eastern Atlantic and Northern Europe than those in the QBO East phase. The results imply that the stratosphere imparts considerable variability to ENSO teleconnections.
  • Source:
    Environmental Research Letters, 12(12), 124021.
  • DOI:
  • Document Type:
    Journal Article
  • Rights Information:
    CC BY
  • Compliance:
    Submitted
  • Main Document Checksum:
  • Download URL:
  • File Type:

You May Also Like

Checkout today's featured content at repository.library.noaa.gov

Version 3.27.1