Key Role of the Ocean Western Boundary currents in shaping the Northern Hemisphere climate

Scientific Reports
Nour-Eddine OmraniKatja Matthes

Abstract

The individual impact of North Atlantic and Pacific Ocean Western Boundary Currents (OWBCs) on the tropospheric circulation has recently been studied in depth. However, their simultaneous role in shaping the hemisphere-scale wintertime troposphere/stratosphere-coupled circulation and its variability have not been considered. Through semi-idealized Atmospheric General-Circulation-Model experiments, we show that the North Atlantic and Pacific OWBCs jointly maintain and shape the wintertime hemispheric circulation and its leading mode of variability Northern Annular Mode (NAM). The OWBCs energize baroclinic waves that reinforce quasi-annular hemispheric structure in the tropospheric eddy-driven jetstreams and NAM variability. Without the OWBCs, the wintertime NAM variability is much weaker and its impact on the continental and maritime surface climate is largely insignificant. Atmospheric energy redistribution caused by the OWBCs acts to damp the near-surface atmospheric baroclinicity and compensates the associated oceanic meridional energy transport. Furthermore, the OWBCs substantially weaken the wintertime stratospheric polar vortex by enhancing the upward planetary wave propagation, and thereby affecting both stratospheric and...Continue Reading

References

Nov 1, 1947·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·H U Sverdrup
Mar 14, 2008·Nature·Shoshiro MinobeRichard Justin Small
Mar 1, 2009·Journal of Geophysical Research·C LeeA D Toigo

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Citations

Oct 15, 2021·Science·Tsubasa KohyamaMasahiro Watanabe

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