On the Impact of Local Feedbacks in the Central Pacific on the ENSO Cycle

While sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the eastern equatorial Pacific are dominated by the thermocline feedback, in the central equatorial Pacific local wind effects, such as zonal advection, are important as well. El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) simulations with a linear model improve markedly if these effects are included as a local wind stress feedback on SST. An atmosphere model that reacts both to eastern and central Pacific SST anomalies is needed for producing a realistic ENSO cycle. First, simulations are studied of a linear 1.5-layer reduced-gravity ocean model and a linear SST anomaly equation, forced by observed monthly wind stress. If only the thermocline feedback is present in the SST equation, SST can be simulated well in the eastern Pacific, but, contrary to observations, central Pacific SST is out of phase with the eastern Pacific. If a wind stress feedback is added in the SST equation, as a term proportional to the zonal wind stress, correlations between observed and simulated SST are above 0.8 in both the central and eastern Pacific, and the correlation between the Niño-3 (58S–58N, 908–1508W) and Niño-4 (58S–58N, 1508W– 1608E) indexes is close to the observed value of 0.75. Next, a statistical atmosphere is added to the ocean module that is based on a regression of observed wind stress to the observed Niño-3 and Niño-4 indexes. The coupled system is driven by noise that is inferred from the residues of the fit and has a red component. The observed Niño-3–Niño-4 index correlation can be reproduced only with a wind stress feedback in the central Pacific. Also, the level of SST variability rises and the ENSO period increases to more realistic values. The interplay between the local wind stress and the thermocline feedbacks, therefore, is an important factor in the structure of ENSO in the coupled linear model. In the eastern Pacific, the thermocline feedback dominates SST anomalies; in the central Pacific, the local wind stress feedback. Due to the local wind stress feedback, the ENSO wind stress response excites SST anomalies in the central Pacific, extending the ENSO SST anomaly pattern well into the central Pacific. In turn, these central Pacific SST anomalies give rise to wind stress anomalies that are situated more westward than the response to eastern Pacific SST anomalies. As a result, the ENSO amplitude is enhanced and the ENSO period increased. Also, central Pacific SST anomalies are not completely determined by eastern Pacific SST anomalies and they persist longer.