Program  
 
The Ocean and Atmosphere in the Maritime Continent and Their Impacts
 

 
 
0930
Atmospheric Energetics over the Tropical Indian Ocean during Indian Ocean Dipole Events
Wednesday 9th @ 0930-0950, Conference Room 4
Jianping Li* , College of Global Change and Earth System Sciences (GCESS), Beijing Normal University
Yuehong Wang, College of Global Change and Earth System Sciences (GCESS), Beijing Normal University
Yazhou Zhang, College of Global Change and Earth System Sciences (GCESS), Beijing Normal University
Qiuyun Wang, College of Global Change and Earth System Sciences (GCESS), Beijing Normal University
Jianhuang Qin, Institute of Oceanography, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Presenter Email: ljp@bnu.edu.cn
The evolution of atmospheric perturbation potential energy (PPE) over the tropical Indian Ocean is analyzed during a composite positive IOD event using reanalysis datasets for the period 1948–2015. The IOD modulates the variation in PPE, which then affects perturbation kinetic energy (PKE) through energy conversion. The PPE anomalies in the lower troposphere (1000–850 hPa) as the dominant layer of the PPE in the whole troposphere (1000–150 hPa) present a dipole pattern corresponding to the anomalous variation in SST during the IOD event. When cold SST anomalies (SSTAs) first appear in the eastern Indian Ocean (IOD-E), they cool the atmospheric PPE in the lower troposphere rapidly. The negative PPE anomalies lead to less energy conversion to PKE, restraining the surface wind convergence over the IOD-E and weakening the climatological Walker circulation. Meanwhile, the surface easterly wind anomalies strengthen, which depresses the thermocline to the west and gives warmer SSTAs in the western Indian Ocean (IOD-W). The PPE anomalies and energy conversion (CK) over the IOD-W are opposite to those over the IOD-E, the anomalous easterly wind continues to develop, and the positive SSTAs in the IOD-W reach a peak. Thus, the response of the Walker circulation over the Indian Ocean provides a positive feedback during the IOD event and explains the delayed effect of IOD-E SSTAs on IOD-W SSTAs.
 
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