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Amplitude-dependent relationship between the Southern Annular Mode and the El Niño Southern Oscillation in austral summer

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Abstract

Co-variability between the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) and the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) during the austral summer is examined, and it is found that there exists an apparent co-variability of a negative (positive) SAM during the mature period of El Niño (La Niña). However, this co-variability is largely controlled by the small number of strong ENSO cases. When strong ENSO cases are excluded, the correlation becomes non-significant. This behavior in the relationship between SAM and ENSO is supported by a series of general circulation model experiments with prescribed sea surface temperature boundary conditions that represent the incremental strengthening of El Niño (La Niña) conditions. The modeled Antarctic sub-polar jet exhibits similar behavior to that identified through observational analysis. Marked changes in both the magnitude and position of the sub-polar jet are largely controlled by particularly strong transient eddy forcing. Planetary wave forcing plays only a minor role in the co-variability, but it can explain in part the asymmetric response of the sub-polar jet between El Niño and La Niña.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Korea Polar Research Institute, Incheon, Korea

    Baek-Min Kim, Hyesun Choi & Seong-Joong Kim

  2. School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea

    Hyesun Choi & Wookap Choi

  3. Korea Polar Research Institute, PO Box 32, Incheon, 21990, Korea

    Seong-Joong Kim

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  1. Baek-Min Kim
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  2. Hyesun Choi
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Kim, BM., Choi, H., Kim, SJ. et al. Amplitude-dependent relationship between the Southern Annular Mode and the El Niño Southern Oscillation in austral summer. Asia-Pacific J Atmos Sci 53, 85–100 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13143-017-0007-6

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