A mechanism for decadal variations in the frequency of extreme El Niño events

Abstract:

The El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the largest source of Earth’s climate variability on interannual time scales, has massive impacts on extreme weathers, agriculture and ecosystems, particularly during extreme El Niño events, such as the 1982/83 and 1997/98 episodes. However, the associated mechanism is not fully understood, hindering their forecasts, as attested by the false alarm of an extreme El Niño in 2014 predicted by many models. Recent studies have identified additional precursors beyond westerly wind anomalies and oceanic heat content along the equatorial Pacific, including the southwest Pacific southerly jets, which tend to occur strongly and concurrently with equatorial westerly anomalies during extreme El Niño, but NOT during weak El Niño events. Here we show that the concurrences of southwest Pacific southerlies, anomalous equatorial westerlies, and their relationship, are modulated by the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO)/Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO), even on daily timescales. During a positive phase of the PDO/IPO, occurrences of westerly wind events (WWEs), in the region between the Maritime continent and the eastern Pacific Ocean, are reinforced by the southwest Pacific southerly surges (SPSSs) in austral winter. By contrast, during a negative phase of the PDO/IPO, such SPSSs are not reinforcing WWEs; instead stronger SPSSs are associated with weaker WWEs. This interdecadal contrast in the relationship between SPSSs and WWEs contributes to the decadal variations in the frequency of extreme El Niño events. The associated mechanism will be discussed.