Effects of wind waves of the Pacific westerly on the eastern Pacific wave transport

There exists a tongue-shaped swell-dominance pool known as Swell Pool（SP） in the Eastern Pacific region.The monthly-mean wave transports（WT） for each month of 2000 is computed using the wave products of ECMWF reanalysis data.By comparing the 2000 monthly-mean WT and monthly-mean wind field from QUICKSCAT,large differences are found between the wave transport direction and the wind direction over the Eastern Pacific.This may serve as an evidence for the existence of the SP in this region.The work done in this study indicates that the sources of swell in the Tropical Eastern Pacific（TEP） are in the westerly regions of the Southern and Northern Pacific.

Simulating Tropical Instability Waves in the Equatorial Eastern Pacific with a Coupled General Circulation Model

Satellite observations of SSTs have revealed the existence of unstable waves in the equatorial eastern Pacific and Atlantic oceans. These waves have a 20-40-day periodicity with westward phase speeds of 0.4-0.6 m s^-1 and wavelengths of 1000-2000 km during boreal summer and fall. They are generally called tropical instability waves （TIWs）. This study investigates TIWs simulated by a high-resolution coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation model （AOGCM）. The horizontal resolution of the model is 120 km in the atmosphere, and 30 km longitude by 20 km latitude in the ocean. Model simulations show good agreement with the observed main features associated with TIWs. The results of energetics analysis reveal that barotropic energy conversion is responsible for providing the main energy source for TIWs by extracting energy from the meridional shear of the climatological-mean equatorial currents in the mixed layer. This deeper and northward-extended wave activity appears to gain its energy through baroclinic conversion via buoyancy work, which further contributes to the asymmetric distribution of TIWs. It is estimated that the strong cooling effect induced by equatorial upwelling is partially （-30%-40%） offset by the equatorward heat flux due to TIWs in the eastern tropical Pacific during the seasons when TIWs are active. The atmospheric mixed layer just above the sea surface responds to the waves with enhanced or reduced vertical mixing. Furthermore, the changes in turbulent mixing feed back to sea surface evaporation, favoring the westward propagation of TIWs. The atmosphere to the south of the Equator also responds to TIWs in a similar way, although TIWs are much weaker south of the Equator.

Non-destructive γ spectrum analysis of polymetallic nodules from the eastern Pacific

Non-destructive γ spectrum analyses of 20 polymetallic nodules from the eastern Pacificwere carried out. Numerous nuclides, such as 238U,230Th,226Ra,210Pb,228Ra,228Th,235U,227Ac (or 231 Pa) and 40K were detected. The count rates of the nuclides in the top or bottom side of nodules facing detector were measured and the ratio R of the count rates of nuclides in the top and the bottom sides was obtained. From counts and ratios, some useful information relating to the growth and movement of the nodules, the source of nuclide and relationship between those and environment can be gotten. A new method for clear distinction between the top and bottom sides of the nodule based on the R value of 226Ra or 210Pb was developed. In addition, one can infer the turnover of nodules according to the R value of 230Th.

The low frequency oscillations of the sea surface temperature in the Equatorial Eastern Pacific and El Nino formation

-In this paper the variations of the sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTA) in the Equatorial Eastern Pacific are analysed. The results show that there are two peaks in the spectrum. One is the low frequency oscillation with a period of 3 - 5 years, and the other is the quasi-biennial oscillation. The former shows a westward migration in the warm episode of SSTA and the latter has the opposite trend. The El Nino events will be formed while the two frquency bands are in phase in the warming stage of SSTA in the Equatorial Eastern Pacific

Influence of dust aerosols on eastern Pacific tropical cyclone intensity

The thermodynamic state of the tropical atmosphere plays an important role in the development of tropical cyclone(TC)intensity.This study reports new results that demonstrate a negative association between eastern Pacific TC intensity in offshore regions and dust aerosol optical depth(AOD)for the years 1980–2019.At the same time,a negative response of cloud water in the lower troposphere to dust AOD is reported by analyzing MERRA-2 reanalysis data and GCM simulations from CMIP6.This response can be explained by the dust semi-direct effect,in which dust aerosols absorb solar radiation,promoting the evaporation of clouds.In principle,this aerosol-driven vaporization modification could affect the enthalpy of the air surrounding a TC.Using potential intensity theory,the authors demonstrate that change in TC intensity related to dust AOD conditions is a consequence of the anomalous enthalpy of the air surrounding a TC caused by the dust semi-direct effect.

Distinct Evolution of the SST Anomalies in the Far Eastern Pacific between the 1997/98 and 2015/16 Extreme El Niños

The 2015/16 El Niño displayed a distinct feature in the SST anomalies over the far eastern Pacific(FEP)compared to the 1997/98 extreme case.In contrast to the strong warm SST anomalies in the FEP in the 1997/98 event,the FEP warm SST anomalies in the 2015/16 El Niño were modest and accompanied by strong southeasterly wind anomalies in the southeastern Pacific.Exploring possible underlying causes of this distinct difference in the FEP may improve understanding of the diversity of extreme El Niños.Here,we employ observational analyses and numerical model experiments to tackle this issue.Mixed-layer heat budget analysis suggests that compared to the 1997/98 event,the modest FEP SST warming in the 2015/16 event was closely related to strong vertical upwelling,strong westward current,and enhanced surface evaporation,which were caused by the strong southeasterly wind anomalies in the southeastern Pacific.The strong southeasterly wind anomalies were initially triggered by the combined effects of warm SST anomalies in the equatorial central and eastern Pacific(CEP)and cold SST anomalies in the southeastern subtropical Pacific in the antecedent winter,and then sustained by the warm SST anomalies over the northeastern subtropical Pacific and CEP.In contrast,southeasterly wind anomalies in the 1997/98 El Niño were partly restrained by strong anomalously negative sea level pressure and northwesterlies in the northeast flank of the related anomalous cyclone in the subtropical South Pacific.In addition,the strong southeasterly wind and modest SST anomalies in the 2015/16 El Niño may also have been partly related to decadal climate variability.

NUMERICAL MODELING STUDY OF EFFECTS OF EASTERN PACIFIC WARM POOL ON ENSO

In this study, sensitivity experiments were conducted with the Zebiak-Cane ocean-atmosphere coupled model forced by the wind stress anomaly from the U.S. National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research （NCEP/NCAR） reanalysis data to study the impacts of eastern Pacific warm pool on the formation and development of ENSO events. The effects of climatological mean sea surface temperature of the warm pool on forecast skill during the ENSO events of 1982-1999 are more considerable that those of climatological mean meridional winds and ocean currents. The forecast skill for the 1997/1998 E1 Nifio event is characterized by sensitivity to climatological mean sea surface temperature and anomalies of northerly winds and currents. The forecast skill is found insensitive to climatological mean northerly meridional winds and currents.

Response of global subtropical highs to the equatorial eastern Pacific SST anomaly

Based on the reanalysis data of global 500hPa geopotential height (NCEP NCAR CDAS-1) and tropical Pacific SSTs, the characteristics of global subtropical highs and their response to tropical eastern Pacific SST are investigated. Results show that global subtropical highs respond to SST consistently. Subtropical high intensity correlates to the 3 months leading SST maximally. The relationship between SST and 500hPa height stands out in low latitudes. The time for 500hPa height reaching maximuxn correlation to SST is 2 months later in latitude of 10 degree and 9 months in latitude of 30 degree than equatorial zone. And the response of atmospheric circulation over extratropic performs as wave train, and the response is more significant in the condition of warmer SST. Persistence of SSTs and subtropical highs changes obviously from season to season. Minimum persistence of subtropical highs in September and October may relate to the low persistence of SSTs in August and September.

Environmental Issues of a Marine Protected Area in a Tectonic Estuary in the Tropical Eastern Pacific:Uramba(Malaga Bay Colombia):Context,Biodiversity,Threats and Challenges

The environmental protection of tropical marine and coastal areas faces different challenges due to the diversity of aspects related to these areas, which include natural, social and economical issues. Despite these challenges, efforts for the protection of these areas are urgent nowadays because of the dramatical increase of human related threats like habitat destruction and population growth. Malaga Bay (MB) is a tectonic estuarine system located in Panama Bight (central region of the Colombian Pacific coast), which due to its origin shows important environmental characteristics of few sites in the Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) match. For these reasons, the government of Colombia declared in 2010, the bay’s marine area as a Marine National Natural Park in order to preserve its unique estuarine marine biodiversity. Despite this measure, MB presents several conditions that make environmental protection a very difficult task. In this paper, we present the geographical context, biodiversity and natural resources, environmental threats, the complexity of economic and social context, and the institutional and legal context of MB, to exemplify the difficulty that the protection of marine areas face in the TEP.

Responses of the Southern Ocean mixed layer depth to the eastern and central Pacific El Niño events during austral winter

Based on the Ocean Reanalysis System version 5(ORAS5)and the fifth-generation reanalysis datasets derived from European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts(ERA5),we investigate the different impacts of the central Pacific(CP)El Niño and the eastern Pacific(EP)El Niño on the Southern Ocean(SO)mixed layer depth(MLD)during austral winter.The MLD response to the EP El Niño shows a dipole pattern in the South Pacific,namely the MLD dipole,which is the leading El Niño-induced MLD variability in the SO.The tropical Pacific warm sea surface temperature anomaly(SSTA)signal associated with the EP El Niño excites a Rossby wave train propagating southeastward and then enhances the Amundsen Sea low(ASL).This results in an anomalous cyclone over the Amundsen Sea.As a result,the anomalous southerly wind to the west of this anomalous cyclone advects colder and drier air into the southeast of New Zealand,leading to surface cooling through less total surface heat flux,especially surface sensible heat(SH)flux and latent heat(LH)flux,and thus contributing to the mix layer(ML)deepening.The east of the anomalous cyclone brings warmer and wetter air to the southwest of Chile,but the total heat flux anomaly shows no significant change.The warm air promotes the sea ice melting and maintains fresh water,which strengthens stratification.This results in a shallower MLD.During the CP El Niño,the response of MLD shows a separate negative MLD anomaly center in the central South Pacific.The Rossby wave train triggered by the warm SSTA in the central Pacific Ocean spreads to the Amundsen Sea,which weakens the ASL.Therefore,the anomalous anticyclone dominates the Amundsen Sea.Consequently,the anomalous northerly wind to the west of anomalous anticyclone advects warmer and wetter air into the central and southern Pacific,causing surface warming through increased SH,LH,and longwave radiation flux,and thus contributing to the ML shoaling.However,to the east of the anomalous anticyclone,there is no statistically significant impact on the MLD.

The correctness to the spuriously simulated semi-annual cycle of the sea surface temperature in the equatorial eastern Pacific

One of the challenges faced by the climate model of the Community Climate System Model version 3 (CCSM3) is the spuriously simulated semi-annual cycle of the sea surface temperature (SST) in the equatorial eastern Pacific. This model bias has limited the performance of the climate simulation and prediction. Based on the surface wave-circulation coupled theory, an atmosphere-wave-ocean coupled model was developed, which incorporates the MASNUM (key laboratory of Marine Sciences and Numerical Modeling) wave number spectral model into CCSM3. The new coupled atmosphere-wave-ocean model successfully removes the spurious semi-annual cycle simulated by the original CCSM3 and reasonably produces an SST annual cycle with warm and cold phases in April and August, respectively. The correlation between the simulated and observed SST in the equatorial eastern Pacific is improved from 0.66 to 0.93. The ocean surface layer heat budget analysis indicates that the wave-induced vertical mixing is responsible for improving the simulation of the SST seasonal cycle in the equatorial eastern Pacific.

Impacts of the SSTs over Equatorial Central–Eastern Pacific and Southeastern Indian Ocean on the Cold and Rainy/Snowy/Icy Weather in Southern China

Low temperature together with snow/freezing rain is disastrous in winter over southern China.Previous studies suggest that this is related to the sea surface temperature(SST)anomalies,especially La Nina conditions,over the equatorial central–eastern Pacific Ocean(EP).In reality,however,La Nina episodes are not always accompanied by rainy/snowy/icy(CRSI)days in southern China,such as the case in winter 2020/2021.Is there any other factor that works jointly with the EP SST to affect the winter CRSI weather in southern China?To address this question,CRSI days are defined and calculated based on station observation data,and the related SST anomalies and atmospheric circulations are examined based on the Hadley Centre SST data and the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data for winters of1978/1979–2017/2018.The results indicate that the CRSI weather with more CRSI days is featured with both decreased temperature and increased winter precipitation over southern China.The SSTs over both the EP and the southeastern Indian Ocean(SIO)are closely related to the CRSI days in southern China with correlation coefficients of-0.29 and 0.39,significant at the 90%and 95%confidence levels,respectively.The SST over EP affects significantly air temperature,as revealed by previous studies,with cooler EP closely related to the deepened East Asian trough,which benefits stronger East Asian winter monsoon(EAWM)and lower air temperature in southern China.Nevertheless,this paper discovers that the SST over SIO affects precipitation of southern China,with a correlation coefficient of 0.42,significant at the 99%confidence level,with warmer SIO correlated with deepened southern branch trough(SBT)and strengthened western North Pacific anomalous anticyclone(WNPAC),favoring more water vapor convergence and enhanced precipitation in southern China.Given presence of La Ni?a in both winters,compared to the winter of 2020/2021,the winter of 2021/2022 witnessed more CRSI days,perhaps due to the warmer SIO.

Spatial variation in bigeye tuna Thunnus obesus size at sexual maturity in the eastern Pacific Ocean

Understanding the reproductive characteristics of a species is of crucial for accurate stock assessment and management plans to ensure sustainable fisheries.In this study,the size at 50%sexual maturity(L50)parameters in different bio-ecological provinces were estimated for bigeye tuna,Thunnus obesus,sampled from the Eastern Pacific Ocean tuna fisheries-dependent survey from 2013 to 2019.The overall sex ratio of the catch during the sampling differed significantly from 1:1.Bigeye tuna exhibit sexual dimorphism in the growth of males and females,with a clear shift in predominance from female to male with increasing sizes.In the North Pacific Sub-tropical Gyre(east)(NPST-east),North Pacific Tropical Gyre(NPTG),Pacific North Equatorial Countercurrent(PNEC),and Pacific Equatorial Divergence(PEQD),females(meals)reached sexual maturity round 102 cm(106 cm),106 cm(100 cm),125 cm(110 cm),and 113 cm(110 cm),respectively,the estimated L50 of bigeye tuna was 124.08 cm,121.97 cm,139.92 cm and 132.45 cm,respectively.The degree of populations mixing between equatorial(PNEC and PEQD)and high-latitude regions(NPST-east and NPTG)is extremely small,but it is reasonably high between the NPST-east and NPTG or PNEC and PEQD.These parameters were significantly different,suggesting the occurrence of a spatial difference in the size-at-maturity of bigeye tuna between these bio-ecological provinces.The findings of this study provide the key information for understanding the life history of bigeye tuna in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and will contribute to the conservation and sustainable yield of this species.

Effects of adjusting vertical resolution on the eastern equatorial Pacific cold tongue

The vertical resolution of LICOM1.0 (LASG/IAP Climate System Ocean Model, version 1.0) is adjusted by increasing the level amount within the upper 150 m while keeping the total of levels. It is found that the eastern equatorial Pacific cold tongue is sensitive to the adjustment. Compared with the simulation of the original level scheme, the adjusting yields a more realistic structure of cold tongue extending from the coast of Peru to the equator, as well as a temperature minimum at Costa Rica coast, north of the cold tongue. In the original scheme experiment, the sharp heating by net surface heat flux at the beginning of spin-up leads to a great warm- ing in the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean. The weak vertical advection due to a too thick mixed layer in the coarse vertical structure also accounts for the warm bias. The fact that most significant improvements of the upper 50 m temperature appear at the region of the thinnest mixed layer indicates the necessity of fine vertical resolution for the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean. However, the westward extension of equatorial cold tongue, a defect in the original scheme, gets even more serious in the adjusting scheme due to the intensi- fied vertical velocity and hence vertical advection in the central-eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean.

Eastern equatorial Pacific SST seasonal cycle in global climate models: from CMIP5 to CMIP6

The sea surface temperature(SST)seasonal cycle in the eastern equatorial Pacific(EEP)plays an important role in the El Nino–Southern Oscillation(ENSO)phenomenon.However,the reasonable simulation of SST seasonal cycle in the EEP is still a challenge for climate models.In this paper,we evaluated the performance of 17 CMIP6 climate models in simulating the seasonal cycle in the EEP and compared them with 43 CMIP5 climate models.In general,only CESM2 and SAM0-UNICON are able to successfully capture the annual mean SST characteristics,and the results showed that CMIP6 models have no fundamental improvement in the model annual mean bias.For the seasonal cycle,14 out of 17 climate models are able to represent the major characteristics of the observed SST annual evolution.In spring,12 models capture the 1–2 months leading the eastern equatorial Pacific region 1(EP1;5°S–5°N,110°–85°W)against the eastern equatorial Pacific region 2(EP2;5°S–5°N,140°–110°W).In autumn,only two models,GISS-E2-G and SAM0-UNICON,correctly show that the EP1 and EP2 SSTs vary in phase.For the CMIP6 MME SST simulation in EP1,both the cold bias along the equator in the warm phase and the warm bias in the cold phase lead to a weaker annual SST cycle in the CGCMs,which is similar to the CMIP5 results.However,both the seasonal cold bias and warm bias are considerably decreased for CMIP6,which leads the annual SST cycle to more closely reflect the observation.For the CMIP6 MME SST simulation in EP2,the amplitude is similar to the observed value due to the quasi-constant cold bias throughout the year,although the cold bias is clearly improved after August compared with CMIP5 models.Overall,although SAM0-UNICON successfully captured the seasonal cycle characteristics in the EEP and the improvement from CMIP5 to CMIP6 in simulating EEP SST is clear,the fundamental climate models simulated biases still exist.

Correlations between Sea Surface Temperature in Eastern Equatorial Pacific and Rain Days over China in Summer

Sea-surface temperature (SST) in the eastern, equatorial Pacific and rain days over China in summer are analysed using correlation moments that is proposed by author and principal component analysis(PCA). Occurrences of the strong rain-day anomalies over China are associated with extreme SSTs in some years. Areas significantly affected by the phenomena include North and Northeast China.

Contribution of Mesoscale Eddies to the Subduction and Transport of North Pacific Eastern Subtropical Mode Water

This study investigates the contribution of mesoscale eddies to the subduction and transport of North Pacific Eastern Subtropical Mode Water(ESTMW)using the high-frequency output of an eddy-resolved ocean model spanning the period 1994–2010.Results show that the subduction induced by mesoscale eddies accounts for about 31%of the total subduction of ESTMW formation.The volume of ESTMW trapped by anticyclonic eddies is slightly larger than that trapped by cyclonic eddies.The ESTMW trapped by all eddies in May reaches up to about 2.8×1013m3,which is approximately 16%of the total ESTMW volume.The eddy-trapped ESTMW moves primarily westward,with its meridional integration at 18°–30°N reaching about 0.17Sv,which is approximately 18%of the total zonal ESTMW transport in this direction,at 140°W.This study highlights the important role of eddies in carrying ESTMW westward over the northeastern Pacific Ocean.

Impacts of the Two Types of El Ni?o on Pacific Tropical Cyclone Activity

It is well known that Tropical cyclone （TC） activities over the Pacific are affected by E1 Nino events. In most studies El Nifio phenomena have been separated into east Pacific warming （EPW） and central Pacific wanning （CPW） based on the location of maximum SST anomaly. Since these two kinds of El Nino have different impacts on Pacific tropical cyclone activities, this study investigates different features of TC activities and the genesis potential index （GPI） during EPW years and CPW years. Four eontrib- nting factors, i.e., the low-level absolute vorticity, the relative humidity, the potential intensity and the vertical wind shear, are exam- ined to determine which factors are most important in causing the anomalous TC activities. Our results show that during EPW years in July-August （JA-0）, TC activities are more frequent with stronger intensity over the Western North Pacific （WNP） and Eastern North Pacific （ENP）. The maximum anomaly center of TC activities then drifts eastward siguifieantly in September-October （SO-0）. However, centers of anomalous TC activity barely change from JA-0 to SO-0 during CPW years. In January-February-March （JFM-1） of the decaying years of warming events, TC frequency and intensity both have positive anomaly over the South Pacific, The anoma- lies in EPW years have larger amplitude and wider spatial distribution than those in CPW years. These anomalous activities of TC are associated with GPI anomaly and the key factors affecting GPI anomaly for each ocean basin are quite different.

Examination of seasonal variation of the equatorial undercurrent termination in the Eastern Pacifi c diagnosed by ECCO2

Seasonal variations of the equatorial undercurrent(EUC) termination in the Eastern Pacific,and their mechanism were examined using the Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean,PhaseⅡ(ECCO2).The ECCO2 reproduced a weak and shallow eastward EUC east of the Galapagos Islands,with annual mean transport of half of EUC to the west of the Islands.The diagnosis of zonal momentum equation suggests that the zonal advection(nonlinear terms) drives the EUC beyond the Islands rather than the pressure gradient force.The EUC in the Far Eastern Pacific has the large st core velocity in boreal spring and the smallest one in boreal summer,and its volume transport exhibits two maxima in boreal spring and autumn.The seasonal variability of the EUC in the Eastern Pacific is dominated by the Kelvin and Rossby waves excited by the zonal winds anomalies in the central and Eastern Pacific that are associated with the seasonal relaxation or intensification of the trade wind.In the Far Eastern Pacific to the east of 120°W,the eastward propagation Kelvin waves play a dominate role in the seasonal cycle of the EUC,results in a semiannual fluctuation with double peaks in boreal spring and autumn.A construction of water mass budget suggests that approximately 24.1% of the EUC water east of 100°W has upwelled to the mixed layer by0.35 m/d.The estimated upwelling is stronge st during boreal autumn and weake st during boreal winter.It is also found that approximately 42.6% of the EUC turns westward to feed the south equatorial current(SEC),13.2% flows north of the equator,and 20.1% flows south of the equator,mainly contributing to Peru-Chile undercurrent.

Response of Sea Surface Temperature to Chlorophyll-a Concentration in the Tropical Pacific:Annual Mean,Seasonal Cycle,and Interannual Variability

The response of the upper-ocean temperatures and currents in the tropical Pacific to the spatial distribution of chlorophyll-a and its seasonal cycle is investigated using a coupled atmosphere-ocean model and a stand-alone oceanic general circulation model.The spatial distribution of chlorophyll-a significantly influences the mean state of models in the tropical Pacific.The annual mean SST in the eastern equatorial Pacific decreases accompanied by a shallow thermocline and stronger currents because of shallow penetration depth of solar radiation.Equatorial upwelling dominates the heat budget in that region.Atmosphere-ocean interaction processes can further amplify such changes. The seasonal cycle of chlorophyll-a can dramatically change ENSO period in the coupled model.After introducing the seasonal cycle of chlorophyll-a concentration,the peak of the power spectrum becomes broad,and longer periods（3 years） are found.These changes led to ENSO irregularities in the model. The increasing period is mainly due to the slow speed of Rossby waves,which are caused by the shallow mean thermocline in the northeastern Pacific.