Decadal variations of Pacific Walker circulation tied to tropical Atlantic–Pacific trans-basin SST gradients
During the modern satellite-monitoring era since ∼1979, the observed Pacific Walker circulation (PWC) presented a pronounced strengthening and robust westward-shifting, defying the model-projected weakening response to anthropogenic warming. The exact cause for the PWC decadal intensification and th...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/acd12f |
| _version_ | 1797747423749079040 |
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| author | Shuai-Lei Yao Jing-Jia Luo Pao-Shin Chu Fei Zheng |
| author_facet | Shuai-Lei Yao Jing-Jia Luo Pao-Shin Chu Fei Zheng |
| author_sort | Shuai-Lei Yao |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | During the modern satellite-monitoring era since ∼1979, the observed Pacific Walker circulation (PWC) presented a pronounced strengthening and robust westward-shifting, defying the model-projected weakening response to anthropogenic warming. The exact cause for the PWC decadal intensification and the corresponding observation-model disagreement remains indecisive. Using two targeted experiments wherein sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the tropical eastern Pacific and North Atlantic are separately restored to follow the observed history, we reveal that the North Atlantic-only SST warming and the tropical eastern Pacific-only SST cooling contribute partly to the PWC decadal adjustment. The North Atlantic SST warming triggers a significant westward displacement of PWC, while the tropical eastern Pacific SST cooling drives mainly the associated shifts of the large-scale atmospheric surface pressure centers. Further, we identify that the tropical Atlantic–eastern Pacific trans-basin SST gradients have dominated the PWC decadal variations over the past century. Our results highlight that a reliable representation of the simulated inter-basin warming contrast between the tropical Atlantic and the tropical eastern Pacific SSTs may be influential in correcting future projections of the PWC strength. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:50:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e59b910339374d669002b9b26ba9c754 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:50:21Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-e59b910339374d669002b9b26ba9c7542023-08-09T15:15:24ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262023-01-0118606401610.1088/1748-9326/acd12fDecadal variations of Pacific Walker circulation tied to tropical Atlantic–Pacific trans-basin SST gradientsShuai-Lei Yao0Jing-Jia Luo1Pao-Shin Chu2Fei Zheng3State Key Laboratory of Numerical Modeling for Atmospheric Sciences and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100029, People’s Republic of ChinaInstitute for Climate and Application Research (ICAR)/CIC-FEMD, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology , Nanjing 210044, People’s Republic of ChinaDepartment of Atmospheric Sciences, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa , Honolulu, HI 96822, United States of AmericaSchool of Atmospheric Sciences, Key Laboratory of Tropical Atmosphere-Ocean System, Ministry of Education, Sun Yat-sen University , Zhuhai, People’s Republic of China; Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory , Zhuhai 519082, People’s Republic of ChinaDuring the modern satellite-monitoring era since ∼1979, the observed Pacific Walker circulation (PWC) presented a pronounced strengthening and robust westward-shifting, defying the model-projected weakening response to anthropogenic warming. The exact cause for the PWC decadal intensification and the corresponding observation-model disagreement remains indecisive. Using two targeted experiments wherein sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the tropical eastern Pacific and North Atlantic are separately restored to follow the observed history, we reveal that the North Atlantic-only SST warming and the tropical eastern Pacific-only SST cooling contribute partly to the PWC decadal adjustment. The North Atlantic SST warming triggers a significant westward displacement of PWC, while the tropical eastern Pacific SST cooling drives mainly the associated shifts of the large-scale atmospheric surface pressure centers. Further, we identify that the tropical Atlantic–eastern Pacific trans-basin SST gradients have dominated the PWC decadal variations over the past century. Our results highlight that a reliable representation of the simulated inter-basin warming contrast between the tropical Atlantic and the tropical eastern Pacific SSTs may be influential in correcting future projections of the PWC strength.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/acd12fPacific Walker circulationdecadal strengtheningrobust westward shiftinter-basin warming contrast |
| spellingShingle | Shuai-Lei Yao Jing-Jia Luo Pao-Shin Chu Fei Zheng Decadal variations of Pacific Walker circulation tied to tropical Atlantic–Pacific trans-basin SST gradients Environmental Research Letters Pacific Walker circulation decadal strengthening robust westward shift inter-basin warming contrast |
| title | Decadal variations of Pacific Walker circulation tied to tropical Atlantic–Pacific trans-basin SST gradients |
| title_full | Decadal variations of Pacific Walker circulation tied to tropical Atlantic–Pacific trans-basin SST gradients |
| title_fullStr | Decadal variations of Pacific Walker circulation tied to tropical Atlantic–Pacific trans-basin SST gradients |
| title_full_unstemmed | Decadal variations of Pacific Walker circulation tied to tropical Atlantic–Pacific trans-basin SST gradients |
| title_short | Decadal variations of Pacific Walker circulation tied to tropical Atlantic–Pacific trans-basin SST gradients |
| title_sort | decadal variations of pacific walker circulation tied to tropical atlantic pacific trans basin sst gradients |
| topic | Pacific Walker circulation decadal strengthening robust westward shift inter-basin warming contrast |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/acd12f |
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