Unprecedented 2015/2016 Indo-Pacific Heat Transfer Speeds Up Tropical Pacific Heat Recharge

Unprecedented reduction and quick recovery of the South Indian Ocean heat content and sea level in 2014-2018

Following the onset of the strong 2014-2016 El Niño, a decade-long increase of the basin-wide sea level and heat content in the subtropical southern Indian Ocean (SIO) in 2004-2013 ended with an unprecedented drop, which quickly recovered during the weak 2017-2018 La Niña. Here, we show that the 2014-2016 El Niño contributed to the observed cooling through an unusual combination of both the reduced heat advection from the Pacific (dominant in the eastern SIO) and the basin-wide cyclonic wind anomaly that led to shoaling of isotherms (dominant in the western SIO). The ensuing recovery was mainly forced by an anticyclonic wind anomaly associated with stronger trade winds that caused deepening of isotherms and upper-ocean warming, effectively suppressing the 2014-2016 cooling signal propagating from the eastern boundary. The results presented here highlight the complexity of the SIO heat content variability driven by remote and local forcing.

Hydrological cycle changes under global warming and their effects on multiscale climate variability

Despite a globally uniform increase in the concentrations of emitted greenhouse gases, radiatively forced surface warming can have significant spatial variations. These define warming patterns that depend on preexisting climate states and through atmospheric and oceanic dynamics can drive changes of the hydrological cycle with global-scale feedbacks. Our study reviews research progress on the hydrological cycle changes and their effects on multiscale climate variability. Overall, interannual variability is expected to become stronger in the Pacific and Indian Oceans and weaker in the Atlantic. Global monsoon rainfall is projected to increase and the wet season to lengthen despite a slowdown of atmospheric circulation. Strong variations among monsoon regions are likely to emerge, depending on surface conditions such as orography and land-sea contrast. Interdecadal climate variability is expected to modulate the globally averaged surface temperature change with pronounced anomalies in the polar and equatorial regions, leading to prolonged periods of enhanced or reduced warming. It is emphasized that advanced global observations, regional simulations, and process-level investigations are essential for improvements in understanding, predicting, and projecting the modes of climate variability, monsoon sensitivity, and energetic fluctuations in a warming climate.

Evaluation of Five Satellite Top-of-Atmosphere Albedo Products over Land

Five satellite top-of-atmosphere (TOA) albedo products over land were evaluated in this study including global products from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) (TAL-AVHRR), Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) (TAL-MODIS), and Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES); one regional product from the Climate Monitoring Satellite Application Facility (CM SAF); and one harmonized product termed Diagnosing Earth’s Energy Pathways in the Climate system (DEEP-C). Results showed that overall, there is good consistency among these five products, particularly after the year 2000. The differences among these products in the high-latitude regions were relatively larger. The percentage differences among TAL-AVHRR, TAL-MODIS, and CERES were generally less than 20%, while the differences between TAL-AVHRR and DEEP-C before 2000 were much larger. Except for the obvious decrease in the differences after 2000, the differences did not show significant changes over time, but varied among different regions. The differences between TAL-AVHRR and the other products were relatively large in the high-latitude regions of North America, Asia, and the Maritime Continent, while the differences between DEEP-C and CM SAF in Europe and Africa were smaller. Interannual variability was consistent between products after 2000, before which the differences among the three products were much larger.