An Incursion of Off-Equatorial Subsurface Cold Water and Its Role in Triggering the “Double Dip” La Nia Event of 2011  

作　　者：ZHENG Fei FENG Lisha ZHU Jiang 

机构地区：[1]International Center for Climate and Environment Science, Institute of Atmospheric Physics,Chinese Academy of Sciences [2]College of Atmospheric Sciences, Chengdu University of Information Technology

出　　处：《Advances in Atmospheric Sciences》2015年第6期731-742,共12页大气科学进展（英文版）

基　　金：supported by the National Program for Support of Top-notch Young Professionals;the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No.2012CB955202);the Chinese Academy Sciences’ Project "Western Pacific Ocean System: Structure, Dynamics and Consequences" (WPOS; Grant No.XDA10010405);the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.41176014)

摘　　要：Based on Global Ocean Data Assimilation System （GODAS） and NCEP reanalysis data, atmospheric and oceanic pro- cesses possibly responsible for the onset of the 2011/12 La Nifia event, which followed the 2010/11 La Nifia even--referred to as a ＂double dip＂ La Nifia--are investigated. The key mechanisms involved in activating the 2011/12 La Nifia are illus- trated by these datasets. Results show that neutral conditions were already evident in the equatorial eastern Pacific during the decaying phase of the 2010/11 La Nifia. However, isothermal analyses show obviously cold water still persisting at the surface and at subsurface depths in off-equatorial regions throughout early 2011, being most pronounced in the tropical South Pacific. The negative SST anomalies in the tropical South Pacific acted to strengthen a southern wind across the equator. The subsurface cold water in the tropical South Pacific then spread northward and broke into the equatorial region at the thermo- cline depth. This incursion process of off-equatorial subsurface cold water successfully interrupted the eastern propagation of warm water along the equator, which had previously accumulated at subsurface depths in the warm pool during the 2010/11 La Nifia event. Furthermore, the incursion process strengthened as a result of the off-equatorial effects, mostly in the tropical South Pacific. The negative SST anomalies then reappeared in the central basin in summer 2011, and acted to trigger local coupled air-sea interactions to produce atmospheric-oceanic anomalies that developed and evolved with the second cooling in the fall of 2011.Based on Global Ocean Data Assimilation System （GODAS） and NCEP reanalysis data, atmospheric and oceanic pro- cesses possibly responsible for the onset of the 2011/12 La Nifia event, which followed the 2010/11 La Nifia even--referred to as a ＂double dip＂ La Nifia--are investigated. The key mechanisms involved in activating the 2011/12 La Nifia are illus- trated by these datasets. Results show that neutral conditions were already evident in the equatorial eastern Pacific during the decaying phase of the 2010/11 La Nifia. However, isothermal analyses show obviously cold water still persisting at the surface and at subsurface depths in off-equatorial regions throughout early 2011, being most pronounced in the tropical South Pacific. The negative SST anomalies in the tropical South Pacific acted to strengthen a southern wind across the equator. The subsurface cold water in the tropical South Pacific then spread northward and broke into the equatorial region at the thermo- cline depth. This incursion process of off-equatorial subsurface cold water successfully interrupted the eastern propagation of warm water along the equator, which had previously accumulated at subsurface depths in the warm pool during the 2010/11 La Nifia event. Furthermore, the incursion process strengthened as a result of the off-equatorial effects, mostly in the tropical South Pacific. The negative SST anomalies then reappeared in the central basin in summer 2011, and acted to trigger local coupled air-sea interactions to produce atmospheric-oceanic anomalies that developed and evolved with the second cooling in the fall of 2011.

关 键 词：＂double dip＂ La Nifia subsurface cold water incursion off-equatorial process 

分 类 号：P732[天文地球—海洋科学]