Modeling of the Tropical Atmosphere-Ocean System

Columbia University, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

This research involves a modeling study of climate variability in the tropical Atlantic sector. The working hypothesis is that climate variability over the Atlantic Ocean, and the surrounding land masses, is governed by an interaction between internal variability which couples the atmosphere to the ocean and external forcing from outside the tropical Atlantic region. The first part of the work will address the specific impact that the remote effects of ENSO have on the tropical Atlantic region. The PIs intend to understand how the tropical Pacific forcing throughout the ENSO lifecycle impacts the precipitation, winds and sea surface temperature in the tropical Atlantic sector. This work will focus on coupled mechanisms by which the tropical Atlantic atmosphere and ocean interact to create climate variability. The PIs will examine how these mechanisms of internal coupling interact with the external forcing provided by ENSO and the North Atlantic Oscillation. The research will be undertaken using atmosphere, ocean, and coupled general circulation models. The work is important because it will increase our understanding of climate variability and predictability in the tropical Atlantic. This could have important societal benefits.