Potential tropical Atlantic impacts on Pacific decadal climate trends

The tropical Pacific cooling from the early 1990s to 2013 has contributed to the slowdown of globally averaged sea surface temperatures (SSTs). The origin of this regional cooling trend still remains elusive. Here we demonstrate that the remote impact of Atlantic SST anomalies, as well as local atmo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geophysical research letters 2016-07, Vol.43 (13), p.7143-7151
Main Authors: Chikamoto, Y., Mochizuki, T., Timmermann, A., Kimoto, M., Watanabe, M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amplitude
Anomalies
Atmosphere
atmosphere‐ocean interaction
Atmospheric circulation
Atmospheric circulation models
Brackish
Circulation
Climate
climate change
Climate trends
Cooling
data assimilation
decadal climate variability
Drought
Drought conditions
Equatorial regions
General circulation
Geophysics
global warming hiatus
Interactions
Loads (forces)
Marine
Ocean temperature
Ocean-atmosphere interaction
Origins
Pressure
Salinity
Salinity effects
Sea level
Sea level pressure
Sea surface
Sea surface temperature
Surface temperature
Temperature effects
Three dimensional models
Trends
Tropical climate
Variability
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Summary:The tropical Pacific cooling from the early 1990s to 2013 has contributed to the slowdown of globally averaged sea surface temperatures (SSTs). The origin of this regional cooling trend still remains elusive. Here we demonstrate that the remote impact of Atlantic SST anomalies, as well as local atmosphere‐ocean interactions, contributed to the eastern Pacific cooling during this period. By assimilating observed three‐dimensional Atlantic temperature and salinity anomalies into a coupled general circulation model, we are able to qualitatively reproduce the observed Pacific decadal trends of SST and sea level pressure (SLP), albeit with reduced amplitude. Although a major part of the Pacific SLP trend can be explained by equatorial Pacific SST forcing only, the origin of this low‐frequency variability can be traced back further to the remote impacts of equatorial Atlantic and South Atlantic SST trends. Atlantic SST impacts on the atmospheric circulation can also be detected for the Northeastern Pacific, thus providing a linkage between Atlantic climate and Western North American drought conditions. Key Points Atlantic SST anomalies contribute to generation of Pacific decadal variability Equatorial and South Atlantic SST trends reorganize global Walker Circulation Phase of Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation influenced by SST anomalies in other ocean basins
ISSN:0094-8276
1944-8007
DOI:10.1002/2016GL069544