Eddy induced SST variation and heat transport in the western North Paci?c Ocean

Vigorous mesoscale eddies and significant sea surface temperature(SST)variations are found in the northern edge of the Pacific warm pool that features large SST gradient.However,the relations between SST gradient,eddies,and SST variations in this region remain unexplored.In this study,by combining multi-altimeter sea surface height(SSH),satellite microwave SST observations and a mesoscale eddy dataset,we investigated the two-dimensional structures of SSTa(SST anomalies)in two subareas,which have different eddy characteristics and can be discriminated in the intensity of background SST gradient.The eddy characteristics of this region,focusing on their concentration to 21°N,are also described.We found that eddies can result in two distinct patterns of eddy-induced SST anomalies,with two different horizontal processes respectively.One is a monopole pattern that is caused by elevation/depression of the isopycnals,and another is a dipole pattern caused by eddy's rotation and stirring of the background SST field.In addition,contributions of both parts to the total SSTa and the SSTa variations were evaluated.The intensity of surrounding SST gradient plays an important role in shaping the SSTa structure:when SST gradient is larger,the eddy-associated SSTa pattern organizes more dipole.The distinct annual cycle in two components of SSTa is associated with the seasonal modulation of the warm pool's horizontal structure.

Mesoscale SST perturbation-induced impacts on climatological precipitation in the Kuroshio-Oyashio extension region,as revealed by the WRF simulations

Mesoscale coupling between perturbations of mesoscale sea surface temperature (SST) and lowlevel winds has been extensively studied using available high-resolution satellite observations. However, the climatological impacts of mesoscale SST perturbations (SST meso ) on the free atmosphere have not been fully understood. In this study, the rectified eff ect of SSTmeso on local climatological precipitation in the Kuroshio- Oyashio Extension (KOE) region is investigated using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model;two runs are performed, one forced by low-resolution SST fields (almost no mesoscale signals) and another by additional high-resolution SSTmeso fields extracted from satellite observations. Climatological precipitation response to SST meso is characterized mainly by enhanced precipitation on the warmer flank of three oceanic SST fronts in this region. The results show that the positive correlation between the 10-m wind speed perturbations and SSTmeso is well captured by the WRF model with a reasonable spatial pattern but relatively weak strength. The addition of SSTmeso improves the climatological precipitation simulated by WRF with a better representation of fine-scale structures compared with satellite observations. A closer examination on the underlying mechanism suggests that while the pressure adjustment mechanism can explain the climatological precipitation enhancement along the fronts and the relatively high contribution of the convective precipitation, other factors such as synoptic events should also be taken into consideration to account for the seasonality of the precipitation response.