During El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events, the atmospheric response to sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the equatorial Pacific influences ocean conditions over the remainder of the globe. This connection between ocean basins via the ‘‘atmospheric bridge’ ’ is reviewed through an examination of previous work augmented by analyses of 50 years of data from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction– National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP–NCAR) reanalysis project and coupled atmospheric general circulation (AGCM)–mixed layer ocean model experiments. Observational and modeling studies have now established a clear link between SST anomalies in the equatorial Pacific with those in the North Pacific, north tropical Atlantic, and Indian Oceans in boreal winter and spring. ENSO-related SST anomalies also appear to be robust in the western North Pacific during summer and in the Indian Ocean during fall. While surface heat fluxes are the key component of the atmospheric bridge driving SST anomalies, Ekman transport also creates SST anomalies in the central North Pacific although the full extent of its impact requires further study. The atmospheric bridge not only influences SSTs on interannual timescales but also affects mixed layer depth (MLD), salinity, the seasonal evolution of upper-ocean temperatures, and North Pacific SST variability at lower frequencies. The model results indicate that a significant fraction of the dominant pattern of low-frequency (�10

Multicentury integrations from two global coupled ocean–atmosphere–land–ice models [Climate Model versions 2.0 (CM2.0) and 2.1 (CM2.1), developed at the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory] are described in terms of their tropical Pacific climate and El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The integrations are run without flux adjustments and provide generally realistic simulations of tropical Pacific climate. The observed annual-mean trade winds and precipitation, sea surface temperature, surface heat fluxes, surface currents, Equatorial Undercurrent, and subsurface thermal structure are well captured by the models. Some biases are evident, including a cold SST bias along the equator, a warm bias along the coast of South America, and a westward extension of the trade winds relative to observations. Along the equator, the models exhibit a robust, westward-propagating annual cycle of SST and zonal winds. During boreal spring, excessive rainfall south of the equator is linked to an unrealistic reversal of the simulated meridional winds in the east, and a stronger-than-observed semiannual signal is evident in the zonal winds and Equatorial Undercurrent. Both CM2.0 and CM2.1 have a robust ENSO with multidecadal fluctuations in amplitude, an irregular period between 2 and 5 yr, and a distribution of SST anomalies that is skewed toward warm events as

There is increasing evidence indicating that the climate response to variations in the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) includes not only thermally forced zonal wind anomalies in the subtropics but also eddy-driven zonal wind anomalies that extend into the mid–high latitudes of both hemispheres. In this study, new insights into the observed seasonally varying signature of ENSO in the extratropical zonal-mean circulation are provided and the associated linkages with the dominant patterns of extratropical variability are examined. The zonal-mean extratropical atmospheric response to ENSO is characterized by two principal features: an equivalent barotropic dipole in the Southern Hemisphere (SH) zonal-mean zonal flow with centers of action located near 40 ° and 60 ° during austral summer, and a weaker, but analogous, dipole in the Northern Hemisphere (NH) with centers of action located near 25 ° and 45 ° during early and late boreal winter. Both structures are accompanied by eddy momentum flux anomalies that exhibit a remarkable degree of hemispheric symmetry. In the SH, the extratropical signature of ENSO projects strongly onto the primary mode of large-scale variability, the southern annular mode (SAM). During the austral summer, roughly 25 % of the temporal variability in the SAM is linearly related to fluctuations in the ENSO cycle. An analogous relationship is not observed in association with the principal mode of climate variability in the NH, the northern annular mode (NAM). It is argued that the seasonally varying impact of ENSO on the extratropical circulation is consistent with the impact of the thermally forced subtropical wind anomalies on the dissipation of equatorward-propagating wave activity at subtropical latitudes. 1.

1 Abstract. Several global quantities are computed from the ERA40 re-analysis for the period 1958-2001 and explored for trends. These are discussed in the context of changes to the global observing system. Temperature, integrated water vapor (IWV) and kinetic energy are considered. The ERA40 global mean temperature in the lower troposphere has a trend of +0.11K per decade over the period of 1979-2001, which is slightly higher than the MSU measurements, but within the estimated error limit. For the period 1958-2001 the warming trend is 0.14 K per decade but this is likely to be an artifact of changes in the observing system. When this is corrected for, the warming trend is reduced to 0.10 K per decade. The global trend in IWV for the period 1979-2001 is +0.36 mm per decade. This is about twice as high as the trend determined from the Clausius-Clapeyron relation assuming conservation of relative humidity. It is also larger than results from free climate model integrations driven by the same observed sea surface temperature (SST) as used in ERA40. It is suggested that the large trend in IWV does not represent a genuine climate trend but an artifact caused by changes in the global observing system such as the use of SSM/I and more satellite soundings in later years. Recent results are in good agreement with GPS measurements. The IWV trend for the period 1958-2001 is still higher but reduced to +0.16 mm per decade when corrected for changes in the observing systems. Total kinetic energy shows an increasing global trend. Results from data assimilation experiments strongly suggest that this trend is also incorrect and mainly caused by the huge changes in the global observing system in 1979. When this is corrected for no significant change in global kinetic energy from 1958 onwards can be found. 2

ABSTRACT The simulation of major midwinter stratospheric sudden warmings (SSWs) in six stratosphere-resolving general circulation models (GCMs) is examined. The GCMs are compared to a new climatology of SSWs, based on the dynamical characteristics of the events. First, the number, type, and temporal distribution of SSW events are evaluated. Most of the models show a lower frequency of SSW events than the climatology, which has a mean frequency of 6.0 SSWs per decade. Statistical tests show that three of the six models produce significantly fewer SSWs than the climatology, between 1.0 and 2.6 SSWs per decade. Second, four process-based diagnostics are calculated for all of the SSW events in each model. It is found that SSWs in the GCMs compare favorably with dynamical benchmarks for SSW established in the first part of the study. These results indicate that GCMs are capable of quite accurately simulating the dynamics required to produce SSWs, but with lower frequency than the climatology. Further dynamical diagnostics hint that, in at least one case, this is due to a lack of meridional heat flux in the lower stratosphere. Even though the SSWs simulated by most GCMs are dynamically realistic when compared to the NCEP-NCAR reanalysis, the reasons for the relative paucity of SSWs in GCMs remains an important and open question.

[1] The recent destructive Atlantic hurricane seasons and several recent publications have sparked debate over whether warming tropical sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are causing more intense, longer-lived tropical cyclones. This paper investigates worldwide tropical cyclone frequency and intensity to determine trends in activity over the past twenty years during which there has been an approximate 0.2°–0.4°C warming of SSTs. The data indicate a large increasing trend in tropical cyclone intensity and longevity for the North Atlantic basin and a considerable decreasing trend for the Northeast Pacific. All other basins showed small trends, and there has been no significant change in global net tropical cyclone activity. There has been a small increase in global Category 4–5 hurricanes from the period 1986–1995 to the period 1996– 2005. Most of this increase is likely due to improved observational technology. These findings indicate that other important factors govern intensity and frequency of tropical

[1] Following a strong El Niño, the climate of the North Pacific underwent a rapid and striking transition in late 1998. Upwelling-favorable winds strengthened over the California Current (CC), and winds weakened in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). Coastal waters of the CC and GOA cooled by several degrees, and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) reversed sign and remained negative through summer 2002. Zooplankton biomass in the northern CC doubled and switched from warm to cold water species dominance, coho and chinook salmon stocks rebounded, and anchovy and osmeriids increased. Persistent changes in atmosphere and upper ocean fields and ecosystem structure suggest a climate regime shift has occurred, similar (opposite) to shifts observed in 1947 (1925 and 1976). If the 1998 regime shift in the northern CC is completely analogous to earlier shifts, then ecosystem structure should have changed in the GOA. Recent surveys indicate this ecosystem has transformed as well. INDEX TERMS: 1635

variability

The causes of decadal variations of North Pacific sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are examined using a hindcast performed with an ocean general circulation model thermodynamically coupled to an atmospheric mixed layer model (OGCM–AML model) and forced by the time history of observed surface winds. The ‘‘shift’ ’ in North Pacific Ocean climate that occurred around 1976/77 is focused on since this is the best observed example available. After the 1976/77 shift the Aleutian low deepened and moved to the southeast of its previous position. This placed anomalous cyclonic flow over the North Pacific. The SST response, as simulated by the ocean model, consisted of two components: a fast and local part and a delayed and remote part. In the central Pacific stronger westerlies cool the ocean by increased equatorward Ekman drift. Here the dynamical cooling is suf-ficiently large that the surface fluxes damp the SST anomaly. This Ekman response is fast and local and cools the SSTs beginning in 1977 and persisting through 1988. In the early 1980s cool SSTs emerge in the latitude of the Kuroshio–Oyashio Extension east of Japan and persist until 1989. It is shown that this region of cooling is associated with a southward displacement of the latitude of the confluence between the subpolar and subtropical gyres. This is consistent with the southward shift in the zero wind stress curl line. The timescale for the gyre adjustment is no more than 4 yr. These results compare favorably with observations that also first show the

From observational analysis a Pacific mode of variability in the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ)/cold tongue region is identified that possesses characteristics and interpretation similar to the dominant ‘‘meridional’’ mode of interannual–decadal variability in the tropical Atlantic. The Pacific and Atlantic meridional modes are characterized by an anomalous sea surface temperature (SST) gradient across the mean latitude of the ITCZ coupled to an anomalous displacement of the ITCZ toward the warmer hemisphere. Both are forced by trade wind variations in their respective northern subtropical oceans. The Pacific meridional mode exists independently of ENSO, although ENSO nonlinearity projects strongly on it during the peak anomaly season of boreal spring. It is suggested that the Pacific and Atlantic modes are analogous, governed by physics intrinsic to the ITCZ/ cold tongue complex. 1.