Distribution of the tropical Pacific surface zonal wind anomaly and its relation with two types of El Nio

作者：WANG Yang; CHEN Jinnian; WANG Hongna; Institute of Oceanology Chinese Academy of Sciences; Key Laboratory of Ocean Circulation and Waves Chinese Academy of Sciences; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences

来源：Chinese Journal of Oceanology and Limnology, 2013, (05): 1137-1152.

• surface zonal wind anomaly
• CP(central Pacific) El Ni o
• rotated empirical orthogonal function
• rotated singular value decomposition
• zonal convergence
• physical process

El Nio events with an eastern Pacific pattern(EP) and central Pacific pattern(CP) were first separated using rotated empirical orthogonal functions(REOF).Lead/lag regression and rotated singular value decomposition(RSVD) analyses were then carried out to study the relation between the surface zonal wind(SZW) anomalies and sea surface temperature(SST) anomalies in the tropical Pacific.A possible physical process for the CP El Ni o was proposed.For the EP El Ni o,strong westerly anomalies that spread eastward continuously produce an anomalous ocean zonal convergence zone(ZCZ) centered on about 165°W.This SZW anomaly pattern favors poleward and eastward Sverdrup transport at the equator.For the CP El Nio,westerly anomalies and the ZCZ are mainly confined to the western Pacific,and easterly anomalies blow in the eastern Pacific.This SZW anomaly pattern restrains poleward and eastward Sverdrup transport at the equator;however,there is an eastward Sverdrup transport at about 5°N,which favors the warming of the north-eastern tropical Pacific.It is found that the slowness of eastward propagation of subsurface warm water(partly from the downwelling caused by Ekman convergence and the ZCZ) is due to the slowdown of the undercurrent in the central basin,and vertical advection in the central Pacific may be important in the formation and disappearance of the CP El Nio.

• 出版日期2013-9-15
• 单位中国科学院大学