The Teleconnection between the Western Indian and the Western Pacific Oceans

In this study we show a teleconnection pattern relating Outgoing Longwave Radiation (OLR) anomalies over the western Pacific Ocean and sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTA) over the western Indian Ocean over two seasons (Sept-Oct-Nov and Dec-Jan-Feb) at zero lag from observations and atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) integrations. This teleconnection pattern suggests that a positive SSTA in Sept-Oct-Nov (SON) and Dec-Jan-Feb (DJF) seasons over the western Indian Ocean increases the contemporaneous positive OLR anomalies over the western Pacific Ocean. This teleconnection pattern is also simulated by the Center for Ocean-Land- Atmosphere studies (COLA) AGCM forced with observed SST’s. From the experimental COLA AGCM runs (wherein the Pacific Ocean SST variability is suppressed except for the climatological annual cycle) it is diagnosed that the interannual variability of OLR over the western Pacific Ocean persists because of this teleconnection. In relation to this teleconnection pattern it is shown that there is a significant linear response of the SON and DJF equatorial zonal wind anomaly over the Pacific Ocean to contemporaneous SSTA over the western Indian Ocean which is comparable to that of the eastern and western Pacific Oceans. The experimental AGCM runs clearly show that this response of the equatorial zonal wind anomaly to the western Indian Ocean forcing shifts westward towards the Indian Ocean in the absence of Pacific SST variability.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Misra, V.
Format: Journal Contribution biblioteca
Language:English
Published: American Meteorological Society 2002
Subjects:Sea surface temperature, Atmospheric conditions, Teleconnections,
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1834/506
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