Interdecadal Amplitude Modulation of El Niño–Southern Oscillation and Its Impact on Tropical Pacific Decadal Variability*

Abstract

The amplitude of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) displays pronounced interdecadal modulations in observations. The mechanisms for the amplitude modulation are investigated using a 2000-yr preindustrial control integration from the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory Climate Model, version 2.1 (GFDL CM2.1). ENSO amplitude modulation is highly correlated with the second empirical orthogonal function (EOF) mode of tropical Pacific decadal variability (TPDV), which features equatorial zonal dipoles in sea surface temperature (SST) and subsurface temperature along the thermocline. Experiments with an ocean general circulation model indicate that both interannual and decadal-scale wind variability are required to generate decadal-scale tropical Pacific temperature anomalies at the sea surface and along the thermocline. Even a purely interannual and sinusoidal wind forcing can produce substantial decadal-scale effects in the equatorial Pacific, with SST cooling in the west, subsurface warming along the thermocline, and enhanced upper-ocean stratification in the east. A mechanism is proposed by which residual effects of ENSO could serve to alter subsequent ENSO stability, possibly contributing to long-lasting epochs of extreme ENSO behavior via a coupled feedback with TPDV.