Assessment of Interannual Sea Surface Salinity Variability and Its Effects on the Barrier Layer in the Equatorial Pacific Using BNU-ESM

作     者：Hai ZHI Rong-Hua ZHANG Fei ZHENG Pengfei LIN Lanning WANG Peng YU 

作者机构：Earth System Modeling Center and College of Atmospheric SciencesNanjing University of Information Science and Technology Key Laboratory of Ocean Circulation and WavesInstitute of OceanologyChinese Academy of Sciences International Center for Climate and Environment ScienceInstitute of Atmospheric PhysicsChinese Academy of Sciences State Key Laboratory of Numerical Modeling for Atmospheric Sciences and Geophysical Fluid DynamicsInstitute of Atmospheric PhysicsChinese Academy of Sciences College of Global Change and Earth System ScienceBeijing Normal University Cooperative Institute for Climate and SatellitesUniversity of MarylandCollege Park 

出 版 物：《Advances in Atmospheric Sciences》 (大气科学进展（英文版）)

年 卷 期：2016年第33卷第3期

页      面：339-351页

核心收录：

学科分类：07[理学] 070601[理学-气象学] 0707[理学-海洋科学] 0706[理学-大气科学] 0816[工学-测绘科学与技术] 0825[工学-航空宇航科学与技术] 

基　　金：supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.41376039,41376019 and 41421005) the NSFC-Shandong Joint Fund for Marine Science Research Centers(Grant No.U1406401) the IOCAS through the CAS Strategic Priority Project[the Western Pacific Ocean System(WPOS)] the WPOS in the "Strategic Priority Research Program" of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(Grant No.XDA11010304) 

主　　题：feedback interannual variability sea surface salinity barrier layer thickness 

摘      要：As salinity stratification is necessary to form the barrier layer （BL）, the quantification of its role in BL interannual variability is crucial. This study assessed salinity variability and its effect on the BL in the equatorial Pacific using outputs from Beijing Normal University Earth System Model （BNU-ESM） simulations. A comparison between observations and the BNU-ESM simulations demonstrated that BNU-ESM has good capability in reproducing most of the interannual features observed in nature. Despite some discrepancies in both magnitude and location of the interannual variability centers, the displacements of sea surface salinity （SSS）, barrier layer thickness （BLT）, and SST simulated by BNU-ESM in the equatorial Pacific are realistic. During E1 Nifio, for example, the modeled interannual anomalies of BLT, mixed layer depth, and isothermal layer depth, exhibit good correspondence with observations, including the development and decay of E1 Nifio in the central Pacific, whereas the intensity of the interannual variabilities is weaker relative to observations. Due to the bias in salinity simulations, the SSS front extends farther west along the equator, whereas BLT variability is weaker in the central Pacific than in observations. Further, the BNU-ESM simulations were examined to assess the relative effects of salinity and temperature variability on BLT. Consistent with previous observation-based analyses, the interannual salinity variability can make a significant contribution to BLT relative to temperature in the western-central equatorial Pacific.