HR: 14:10h
AN: A33B-03 INVITED     [Abstracts]
TI: Aspects of the Remote Influence of ENSO in the Tropical Atlantic Region
AU: * Saravanan, R
EM: svn@ucar.edu
AF: NCAR, P.O. Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307-3000 United States
AU: Chang, P
EM: ping@ocean.tamu.edu
AF: Dept. of Oceanography, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-3146 United States
AB: The influence of El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on surface pressure and sea surface temperature variability in the Tropical Atlantic region is well known from observational studies. However, the exact mechanisms responsible for this influence are not yet fully understood. In this study, we focus on the processes that control surface fluxes in the tropical Atlantic and their relative contribution to the remote influence. Conventional wisdom holds that anomalies in surface latent heat flux play the dominant role. We assess the role of latent heating, as well as that of surface radiative fluxes, including the effect of cloudiness, using general circulation model (GCM) experiments. We analyze two suites of experiments, one using the NCAR atmospheric GCM and another using the NASA Seasonal-to-Interannual Prediction Project (NSIPP) atmospheric GCM. In our analysis, we also consider the role of land surface hydrology in mediating the remote influence of ENSO in the Tropical Atlantic region.
DE: 1704 Atmospheric sciences
SC: Atmospheric Sciences [A]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting