Abrupt termination of the 1997-98 El Niño in response to a Madden-Julian oscillation

The role of the Madden-Julian oscillation-a global atmospheric wave in the tropics that is associated with convective activity and propagates eastwards with a period of about 30-60 days (refs 1, 2)-in triggering El Niño events has been discussed before. But its possible connection with a termination...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature (London) 1999-11, Vol.402 (6759), p.279-282
Main Authors: Takayabu, Yukari N, Iguchi, Toshio, Kachi, Misako, Shibata, Akira, Kanzawa, Hiroshi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Atmosphere
Climate
Earth, ocean, space
El Nino
Exact sciences and technology
External geophysics
General circulation. Atmospheric waves
Humanities and Social Sciences
letter
Marine
Meteorology
multidisciplinary
Ocean currents
Science
Sea surface temperature
Thermocline
Trade winds
Tropical environments
Wind speed
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Summary:The role of the Madden-Julian oscillation-a global atmospheric wave in the tropics that is associated with convective activity and propagates eastwards with a period of about 30-60 days (refs 1, 2)-in triggering El Niño events has been discussed before. But its possible connection with a termination of El Niño has yet to be investigated, despite the difficulty in explaining the timing of El Niño terminations by the basic wind-induced oceanic-wave processes. For the extreme 1997-98 event, the mechanism of both onset and termination have been investigated, but the reason for the abruptness of the termination has yet to be resolved. Here we present global data of precipitation, sea surface temperatures and wind speeds that show a precipitation system associated with an exceptionally strong Madden-Julian oscillation travelling around the Equator in May 1998. The propagation of this atmospheric system was associated with an abrupt intensification of the easterly trade winds over the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean. Combined with the already shallow equatorial thermocline in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean at that time, these strong winds provided the triggering mechanism for the observed accelerated ending of the 1997-98 El Niño event.
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/46254