Interannual atmospheric variability forced by the deep equatorial Atlantic Ocean
Climate variability in the tropical Atlantic Ocean is determined by large-scale ocean–atmosphere interactions, which particularly affect deep atmospheric convection over the ocean and surrounding continents1. Apart from influences from the Pacific El Niño/Southern Oscillation2 and the North Atlantic...
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ftoceanrep:oai:oceanrep.geomar.de:11915 2023-12-10T09:51:42+01:00 Interannual atmospheric variability forced by the deep equatorial Atlantic Ocean Brandt, Peter Funk, Andreas Hormann, Verena Dengler, Marcus Greatbatch, Richard John Toole, John M. 2011 text https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/11915/ https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/11915/1/nature10013.pdf https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/11915/3/nature10013-s1.pdf https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10013 en eng Nature Publishing Group https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/11915/1/nature10013.pdf https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/11915/3/nature10013-s1.pdf Brandt, P. , Funk, A., Hormann, V., Dengler, M. , Greatbatch, R. J. and Toole, J. M. (2011) Interannual atmospheric variability forced by the deep equatorial Atlantic Ocean. Nature, 473 (7348). pp. 497-500. DOI 10.1038/nature10013 <https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10013>. doi:10.1038/nature10013 info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess Article PeerReviewed 2011 ftoceanrep https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10013 2023-11-13T00:22:42Z Climate variability in the tropical Atlantic Ocean is determined by large-scale ocean–atmosphere interactions, which particularly affect deep atmospheric convection over the ocean and surrounding continents1. Apart from influences from the Pacific El Niño/Southern Oscillation2 and the North Atlantic Oscillation3, the tropical Atlantic variability is thought to be dominated by two distinct ocean–atmosphere coupled modes of variability that are characterized by meridional4, 5 and zonal6, 7 sea-surface-temperature gradients and are mainly active on decadal and interannual timescales, respectively8, 9. Here we report evidence that the intrinsic ocean dynamics of the deep equatorial Atlantic can also affect sea surface temperature, wind and rainfall in the tropical Atlantic region and constitutes a 4.5-yr climate cycle. Specifically, vertically alternating deep zonal jets of short vertical wavelength with a period of about 4.5 yr and amplitudes of more than 10 cm s−1 are observed, in the deep Atlantic, to propagate their energy upwards, towards the surface10, 11. They are linked, at the sea surface, to equatorial zonal current anomalies and eastern Atlantic temperature anomalies that have amplitudes of about 6 cm s−1 and 0.4 °C, respectively, and are associated with distinct wind and rainfall patterns. Although deep jets are also observed in the Pacific12 and Indian13 oceans, only the Atlantic deep jets seem to oscillate on interannual timescales. Our knowledge of the persistence and regularity of these jets is limited by the availability of high-quality data. Despite this caveat, the oscillatory behaviour can still be used to improve predictions of sea surface temperature in the tropical Atlantic. Deep-jet generation and upward energy transmission through the Equatorial Undercurrent warrant further theoretical study. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic OceanRep (GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre für Ocean Research Kiel) Pacific Nature 473 7348 497 500 |
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ftoceanrep |
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English |
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Climate variability in the tropical Atlantic Ocean is determined by large-scale ocean–atmosphere interactions, which particularly affect deep atmospheric convection over the ocean and surrounding continents1. Apart from influences from the Pacific El Niño/Southern Oscillation2 and the North Atlantic Oscillation3, the tropical Atlantic variability is thought to be dominated by two distinct ocean–atmosphere coupled modes of variability that are characterized by meridional4, 5 and zonal6, 7 sea-surface-temperature gradients and are mainly active on decadal and interannual timescales, respectively8, 9. Here we report evidence that the intrinsic ocean dynamics of the deep equatorial Atlantic can also affect sea surface temperature, wind and rainfall in the tropical Atlantic region and constitutes a 4.5-yr climate cycle. Specifically, vertically alternating deep zonal jets of short vertical wavelength with a period of about 4.5 yr and amplitudes of more than 10 cm s−1 are observed, in the deep Atlantic, to propagate their energy upwards, towards the surface10, 11. They are linked, at the sea surface, to equatorial zonal current anomalies and eastern Atlantic temperature anomalies that have amplitudes of about 6 cm s−1 and 0.4 °C, respectively, and are associated with distinct wind and rainfall patterns. Although deep jets are also observed in the Pacific12 and Indian13 oceans, only the Atlantic deep jets seem to oscillate on interannual timescales. Our knowledge of the persistence and regularity of these jets is limited by the availability of high-quality data. Despite this caveat, the oscillatory behaviour can still be used to improve predictions of sea surface temperature in the tropical Atlantic. Deep-jet generation and upward energy transmission through the Equatorial Undercurrent warrant further theoretical study. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Brandt, Peter Funk, Andreas Hormann, Verena Dengler, Marcus Greatbatch, Richard John Toole, John M. |
spellingShingle |
Brandt, Peter Funk, Andreas Hormann, Verena Dengler, Marcus Greatbatch, Richard John Toole, John M. Interannual atmospheric variability forced by the deep equatorial Atlantic Ocean |
author_facet |
Brandt, Peter Funk, Andreas Hormann, Verena Dengler, Marcus Greatbatch, Richard John Toole, John M. |
author_sort |
Brandt, Peter |
title |
Interannual atmospheric variability forced by the deep equatorial Atlantic Ocean |
title_short |
Interannual atmospheric variability forced by the deep equatorial Atlantic Ocean |
title_full |
Interannual atmospheric variability forced by the deep equatorial Atlantic Ocean |
title_fullStr |
Interannual atmospheric variability forced by the deep equatorial Atlantic Ocean |
title_full_unstemmed |
Interannual atmospheric variability forced by the deep equatorial Atlantic Ocean |
title_sort |
interannual atmospheric variability forced by the deep equatorial atlantic ocean |
publisher |
Nature Publishing Group |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/11915/ https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/11915/1/nature10013.pdf https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/11915/3/nature10013-s1.pdf https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10013 |
geographic |
Pacific |
geographic_facet |
Pacific |
genre |
North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic |
op_relation |
https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/11915/1/nature10013.pdf https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/11915/3/nature10013-s1.pdf Brandt, P. , Funk, A., Hormann, V., Dengler, M. , Greatbatch, R. J. and Toole, J. M. (2011) Interannual atmospheric variability forced by the deep equatorial Atlantic Ocean. Nature, 473 (7348). pp. 497-500. DOI 10.1038/nature10013 <https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10013>. doi:10.1038/nature10013 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10013 |
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Nature |
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473 |
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7348 |
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497 |
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500 |
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1784897451524620288 |