DOI: 10.1175/JCLI-D-13-00255.1
Scopus记录号: 2-s2.0-84896917979
论文题名: What controls the mean east-west sea surface temperature gradient in the equatorial pacific: The role of cloud albedo
作者: Burls N.J. ; Fedorov A.V.
刊名: Journal of Climate
ISSN: 8948755
出版年: 2014
卷: 27, 期: 7 起始页码: 2757
结束页码: 2778
语种: 英语
Scopus关键词: Atmospheric pressure
; Atmospheric temperature
; Experiments
; Solar radiation
; Thermal gradients
; Tropics
; Coupled Model Intercomparison Project
; Earth system model
; Energy balance models
; Meridional gradients
; Numerical experiments
; Ocean-atmosphere system
; Sea Surface Temperature gradients
; Short-wave radiation
; Oceanography
; albedo
; cloud
; El Nino-Southern Oscillation
; energy balance
; optical property
; sea surface temperature
; shortwave radiation
; temperature gradient
; Walker circulation
; Pacific Ocean
; Pacific Ocean (Equatorial)
英文摘要: The mean east-west sea surface temperature gradient along the equator is a key feature of tropical climate. Tightly coupled to the atmospheric Walker circulation and the oceanic east-west thermocline tilt, it effectively defines tropical climate conditions. In the Pacific, its presence permits the El Niño-Southern Oscillation phenomenon.What determines this temperature gradient within the fully coupled ocean-atmosphere system is therefore a central question in climate dynamics, critical for understanding past and future climates. Using a comprehensive coupled model [Community Earth System Model (CESM)], the authors demonstrate how the meridional gradient in cloud albedo between the tropics and midlatitudes (Δα) sets the mean east-west sea surface temperature gradient in the equatorial Pacific. To change Δα in the numerical experiments, the authors change the optical properties of clouds by modifying the atmospheric water path, but only in the shortwave radiation scheme of the model. When Δα is varied from approximately20.15 to 0.1, the east-west SST contrast in the equatorial Pacific reduces from 7.58° to less than 18° and the Walker circulation nearly collapses. These experiments reveal a near-linear dependence between Δα and the zonal temperature gradient, which generally agrees with results from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 (CMIP5) preindustrial control simulations. The authors explain the close relation between the two variables using an energy balance model incorporating the essential dynamics of the warm pool, cold tongue, and Walker circulation complex. © 2014 American Meteorological Society. Citation statistics:
资源类型: 期刊论文
标识符: http://119.78.100.158/handle/2HF3EXSE/51386
Appears in Collections: 气候变化事实与影响
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作者单位: Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
Recommended Citation:
Burls N.J.,Fedorov A.V.. What controls the mean east-west sea surface temperature gradient in the equatorial pacific: The role of cloud albedo[J]. Journal of Climate,2014-01-01,27(7)