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Atmospheric Forcing of Sea Surface Temperature Decadal Variability in the Subtropical Northeastern Pacific
  • +6
  • Yu Zhang,
  • Shi-Yun Yu,
  • Dillon Amaya,
  • Yu Kosaka,
  • Malte Stuecker,
  • Jun-Chao Yang,
  • Kai-Yuan Li,
  • Lei Fan,
  • Xiaopei Lin
Yu Zhang
Frontiers Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System and Physical Oceanography Laboratory, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China
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Shi-Yun Yu
Frontiers Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System and Physical Oceanography Laboratory, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Dillon Amaya
Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado
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Yu Kosaka
Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
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Malte Stuecker
Department of Oceanography and International Pacific Research Center, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi
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Jun-Chao Yang
Frontiers Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System and Physical Oceanography Laboratory, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China
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Kai-Yuan Li
College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China
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Lei Fan
Frontiers Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System and Physical Oceanography Laboratory, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China
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Xiaopei Lin
Frontiers Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System and Physical Oceanography Laboratory, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China
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Abstract

The subtropical northeastern Pacific (SNEP) acts as a bridge conveying information between the North and tropical Pacific. While most studies have investigated the SNEP sea surface temperature (SST) interannual variability, less attention has been paid to the pronounced decadal variability in this region. Here, by analyzing observational data and an ensemble pacemaker simulation, we investigate SNEP SST decadal variability in terms of atmospheric forcing processes. We find that both tropical Pacific-forced and internal (independent of tropical Pacific forcing) atmospheric variability play important forcing roles. In particular, tropical Pacific-excited Aleutian low variability, whose center of action shifts southeastward compared to the climatology, contributes to forcing SNEP SST decadal variability. This contribtution could offer an important source for the predictability of SNEP SST decadal variability.