Unprecedented 2015/2016 Indo-Pacific Heat Transfer Speeds Up Tropical Pacific Heat Recharge

Autor(en)
Michael Mayer, Magdalena Balmaseda, Leopold Haimberger
Abstrakt

El Niño events are characterized by anomalously warm tropical Pacific surface waters and concurrent ocean heat discharge, a precursor of subsequent cold La Niña conditions. Here we show that El Niño 2015/2016 departed from this norm: despite extreme peak surface temperatures, tropical Pacific (30°N–30°S) upper ocean heat content increased by 9.6 ± 1.7 ZJ (1 ZJ = 10

21 J), in stark contrast to the previous strong El Niño in 1997/1998 (−11.5 ± 2.9 ZJ). Unprecedented reduction of Indonesian Throughflow volume and heat transport played a key role in the anomalous 2015/2016 event. We argue that this anomaly is linked with the previously documented intensified warming and associated rising sea levels in the Indian Ocean during the last decade. Additionally, increased absorption of solar radiation acted to dampen Pacific ocean heat content discharge. These results explain the weak and short-lived La Niña conditions in 2016/2017 and indicate the need for realistic representation of Indo-Pacific energy transfers for skillful seasonal-to-decadal predictions.

Organisation(en)
Institut für Meteorologie und Geophysik
Externe Organisation(en)
European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF)
Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
Band
45
Seiten
3274-3284
Anzahl der Seiten
11
ISSN
0094-8276
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/2018GL077106
Publikationsdatum
04-2018
Peer-reviewed
Ja
ÖFOS 2012
105204 Klimatologie, 105306 Ozeanographie
Schlagwörter
ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete
Geophysics, Earth and Planetary Sciences(all)
Link zum Portal
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/unprecedented-20152016-indopacific-heat-transfer-speeds-up-tropical-pacific-heat-recharge(fb38351b-b87f-4bdd-b1e8-0f2adb8f915b).html