The 2002/2003 El Nino: Equatorial waves sequence and their impact on sea surface temperature

ISI Document Delivery No.: 129JU Times Cited: 1 Cited Reference Count: 38 Cited References: Ashok K, 2007, J GEOPHYS RES-OCEANS, V112, DOI 10.1029/2006JC003798 Belmadani A, 2010, J CLIMATE, V23, P3181, DOI 10.1175/2010JCLI2830.1 BLUMENTHAL MB, 1989, J PHYS OCEANOGR, V19, P815, DOI 10.1175/1520-0485(1989)0192.0.CO;2 Bosc C, 2008, J GEOPHYS RES-OCEANS, V113, DOI 10.1029/2007JC004613 BUSALACCHI AJ, 1988, J PHYS OCEANOGR, V18, P801, DOI 10.1175/1520-0485(1988)0182.0.CO;2 Chelton DB, 2001, J CLIMATE, V14, P1479, DOI 10.1175/1520-0442(2001)0142.0.CO;2 CLARKE AJ, 1991, J GEOPHYS RES-OCEANS, V96, P10731, DOI 10.1029/91JC00933 Dewitte B, 2011, J GEOPHYS RES-OCEANS, V116, DOI 10.1029/2010JC006495 Dewitte B, 2012, CLIM DYNAM, V38, P2275, DOI 10.1007/s00382-011-1215-x Dewitte B, 2003, J GEOPHYS RES-OCEANS, V108, DOI 10.1029/2002JC001362 Ducet N, 2000, J GEOPHYS RES-OCEANS, V105, P19477, DOI 10.1029/2000JC900063 Fedorov AV, 2001, J CLIMATE, V14, P3086, DOI 10.1175/1520-0442(2001)0142.0.CO;2 Garric G., 2008, 235 MERC Gentemann CL, 2003, GEOPHYS RES LETT, V30, DOI 10.1029/2002GL016291 HAYES SP, 1991, J GEOPHYS RES-OCEANS, V96, P10553, DOI 10.1029/91JC00942 Jin FF, 1997, J ATMOS SCI, V54, P811, DOI 10.1175/1520-0469(1997)0542.0.CO;2 Kug JS, 2009, J CLIMATE, V22, P1499, DOI 10.1175/2008JCLI2624.1 Kug JS, 2010, J CLIMATE, V23, P1226, DOI 10.1175/2009JCLI3293.1 Kim W, 2011, GEOPHYS RES LETT, V38, DOI 10.1029/2011GL048521 Lee T, 2010, GEOPHYS RES LETT, V37, DOI 10.1029/2010GL044007 Lengaigne M, 2012, CLIM DYNAM, V38, P1031, DOI 10.1007/s00382-011-1051-z Le Traon PY, 1998, J GEOPHYS RES-OCEANS, V103, P8045, DOI 10.1029/97JC01917 Levitus S, 1998, WORLD OCEAN DATABASE Madec G., 1998, OPA 8 1 OCEAN GEN CI McPhaden MJ, 1998, J GEOPHYS RES-OCEANS, V103, P14169, DOI 10.1029/97JC02906 McPhaden MJ, 2011, GEOPHYS RES LETT, V38, DOI 10.1029/2011GL048275 McPhaden MJ, 2012, GEOPHYS RES LETT, V39, DOI 10.1029/2012GL051826 McPhaden MJ, 2004, B AM METEOROL SOC, V85, P677, DOI 10.1175/BAMS-85-5-677 Meinen CS, 2000, J CLIMATE, V13, P3551, DOI 10.1175/1520-0442(2000)0132.0.CO;2 FU LL, 1994, J GEOPHYS RES-OCEANS, V99, P24369, DOI 10.1029/94JC01761 Rayner NA, 2003, J GEOPHYS RES-ATMOS, V108, DOI 10.1029/2002JD002670 Takahashi K, 2011, GEOPHYS RES LETT, V38, DOI 10.1029/2011GL047364 Wang WM, 1999, J PHYS OCEANOGR, V29, P1812, DOI 10.1175/1520-0485(1999)0292.0.CO;2 Wentz FJ, 2000, SCIENCE, V288, P847, DOI 10.1126/science.288.5467.847 Yeh SW, 2009, NATURE, V461, P511, DOI 10.1038/nature08316 Yu JY, 2010, GEOPHYS RES LETT, V37, DOI 10.1029/2010GL042810 Yu JY, 2011, THEOR APPL CLIMATOL, V103, P337, DOI 10.1007/s00704-010-0307-6 ZEBIAK SE, 1987, MON WEATHER REV, V115, P2262, DOI 10.1175/1520-0493(1987)1152.0.CO;2 Mosquera-Vasquez, K. Dewitte, B. Illig, S. Takahashi, K. Garric, G. Takahashi, Ken/G-5321-2010 Takahashi, Ken/0000-0003-3670-2939 Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement (IRD) K. Mosquera-Vasquez benefited from a Ph.D. scholarship received from Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement (IRD). The authors also thank the two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments. This work is part of the projects of the special agreement between IRD and IGP (2011-2013). 1 AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION WASHINGTON J GEOPHYS RES-OCEANS; The recent decades have experienced changes in the characteristics of the El Nino phenomenon, with in particular an increased occurrence of so-called Modoki or Central Pacific El Ninos. Here the 2002/2003 El Nino, characterized as a Central Pacific El Nino, is studied from an Ocean General Circulation Model simulation. The focus is on the sequence of equatorial waves and their impact on zonal and vertical advection. The wave amplitude according to the most energetic baroclinic modes are first estimated, which allows inferring the sequence of the intraseasonal equatorial Kelvin (IKW) and Rossby (IRW) waves. It is shown that energetic downwelling IKWs, forced in the western-central Pacific, crossed the equatorial Pacific. Reflections of IKWs into IRWs onto the zonally varying thermocline and eastern boundary are also observed. A simplified heat budget of the surface layer is then carried out to infer the dominant processes at work during the evolution of this event focusing on the wave-induced advection terms. The results indicate that the warming phase (April-November 2002) is mainly controlled by zonal advection of mean temperature (accounted for by IKWs and locally wind-driven current) and by vertical advection in the eastern Pacific. The cooling phase (December 2002 to April 2003) is dominated by a reduction in solar radiation and the IRW-induced zonal advection of mean temperature respectively in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific. The recharge-discharge process is also showed to be at work with the recharge (discharge) process operating mainly through the second (first) baroclinic mode.