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dc.contributor.advisorVecchi, Gabriel Aen_US
dc.contributor.authorChoi, Kit Yanen_US
dc.contributor.otherAtmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Departmenten_US
dc.date.accessioned2015-12-07T19:59:23Z-
dc.date.available2015-12-07T19:59:23Z-
dc.date.issued2015en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dsp01s1784p111-
dc.description.abstractThe differences between the warm and cold phases of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation have profound implications on their potential socio-economical impacts and predictability; and understanding them provides insights into the fundamental dynamics of the coupled climate system. In this dissertation, these differences are systematically quantified in terms of their amplitude, duration and sequencing preferences. The role of atmospheric nonlinearities in causing these differences is investigated using a hierarchy of models. It is found that the equatorial surface zonal wind response being stronger during El Niño than during La Niña can lead to the observed ENSO asymmetry in a consistent manner. The nonlinearity in the zonal wind response strength has not been previously explained. With the use of a linear shallow water model, it is demonstrated that the nonlinear surface zonal wind response is related to the nonlinearity in the precipitation response. By decomposing the precipitation anomalies into components attributable to adjustments of the Walker circulation (zonal redistribution) and the local Hadley cell (meridional redistribution) respectively, it is shown that during La Niña, the meridional adjustment acts to reduce the climatological precipitation available for the zonal adjustment to take place, therefore weakens the La Niña surface zonal wind response and enhances the zonal wind response nonlinearity. As the equatorial climatological precipitation is found to be linearly correlated with the surface zonal wind response during El Niño and La Niña, it follows that the mean state climatological may have a strong control on ENSO characteristics. This hypothesis is tested by flux adjusting a state-of-the-art coupled climate model to different ocean surface climatological states. Some, but not all of the ENSO statistics and feedbacks are shown to depend systematically on the the mean climate state. Several hypotheses on the causal relationships between ENSO and the mean climate are also tested. The extent to which ENSO depends on the mean climate state is quantified and discussed.en_US
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherPrinceton, NJ : Princeton Universityen_US
dc.relation.isformatofThe Mudd Manuscript Library retains one bound copy of each dissertation. Search for these copies in the library's main catalog: http://catalog.princeton.edu/en_US
dc.subjectAsymmetryen_US
dc.subjectClimateen_US
dc.subjectEl Niñoen_US
dc.subjectENSOen_US
dc.subjectLa Niñaen_US
dc.subjectNonlinearityen_US
dc.subject.classificationAtmospheric sciencesen_US
dc.subject.classificationGeophysicsen_US
dc.subject.classificationPhysical oceanographyen_US
dc.titleEl Niño-Southern Oscillation: Asymmetry, nonlinear atmospheric response and the role of mean climateen_US
dc.typeAcademic dissertations (Ph.D.)en_US
pu.projectgrantnumber690-2143en_US
Appears in Collections:Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences

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