Widespread Reemergence of Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies in the Global Oceans, Including Tropical Regions Forced by Reemerging Winds
Abstract
Sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTA) in portions of the extratropics are known to recur from one winter to the next without persisting through the intervening summer. Previous studies identified only a limited number of midlatitude regions where this reemergence occurs. Here we find that most of the global oceans exhibit winter‐to‐winter recurrence of SSTA. Indeed, recurrence of SSTA is the default process in the global ocean. Only regions strongly linked to El Niño do not show signs of SST reemergence. In midlatitudes, the temperature anomalies that recur persist below the shallow mixed layer in summer. However, SST recurrence is also found at some tropical locations and appears to be independent of subsurface ocean heat storage. Reemergence at these locations is linked to the recurrence of atmospheric drivers of SSTA, predominantly the wind‐stress forcing. Our results are supported by different ocean data sets and by state‐of‐the‐art climate model simulations.
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In the tropics, SSTA re-emergence is strongly coupled with recurrence of atmospheric drivers, predominantly wind stress.
“In the tropics, SSTA re-emergence is strongly coupled with recurrence of atmospheric drivers, predominantly wind stress9, and there is evidence that atmospheric drivers can also affect inter-annual variations in mid-latitude re-emergence14.”
From Tendencies, variability and persistence of sea surface temperature anomalies (2020) · cites this paper as [9]
Winter SST anomalies persist at depth during the summer months below the shallow mixed layer, reemerging in the SSTA the following winter as the summer seasonal thermocline is eroded.
“Winter SST anomalies persist at depth during the summer months below the shallow mixed layer, reemerging in the SSTA the following winter as the summer seasonal thermocline is eroded.”
From Tendencies, variability and persistence of sea surface temperature anomalies (2020) · cites this paper as [9]
Regions characterised by a strong seasonal variation in MLD may display the phenomenon of re-emergence of winter-to-winter SSTA.
“Regions characterised by a strong seasonal variation in MLD may also display the phenomenon of re-emergence of winter-to-winter SSTA9–13.”
From Tendencies, variability and persistence of sea surface temperature anomalies (2020) · cites this paper as [9]
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References 39 · Cited by 22
- Authors
- Byju, P., Dommenget, D., & Alexander, M. A.
- Affiliations
- School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment Monash University Clayton Victoria Australia
- Monash University (AU)
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (US)
- Venue
- Geophysical Research Letters
- Publisher
- American Geophysical Union (AGU)
- Published
- 2018-08-11
- Volume
- 45
- Issue
- 15
- Pages
- 7683-7691
- ISSN
- 0094-8276 (ISSN-L)
- 1944-8007
- OpenAlex
- W2883030503
- Cited by
- 22
- References
- 39
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2024: 3 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 6
- FWCI
- 1.61
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Geophysical Research Letters (publishedVersion)
- NOAA Institutional Repository (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- ARC Climate System Science (CE110001028)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Climate variability and models
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Oceanography › Oceanographic and Atmospheric Processes
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Oceanography › Marine and coastal ecosystems
- Keywords
- sea surface temperature anomalies, re-emergence, wind stress forcing, mid-latitude ocean, tropical oceans, El Niño, mixed layer, atmospheric forcing
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