Subtropical-tropical pathways of spiciness anomalies and their impact on equatorial Pacific temperature

Understanding mechanisms of tropical Pacific decadal variability (TPDV) is of high importance for differentiating between natural climate variability and human induced climate change as this region sustains strong global teleconnections. Here, we use an ocean general circulation model along with a Lagrangian tracer simulator to investigate the advection of density compensated temperature anomalies (spiciness mechanism) as a potential contributor to TPDV during the 1980-2016 period. Consistent with observations, we find the primary regions of spiciness generation in the eastern subtropics of each hemisphere. Our results indicate that 75% of the equatorial subsurface water originates in the subtropics, of which two thirds come from the Southern hemisphere. We further show two prominent cases where remotely generated spiciness anomalies are advected to the equatorial Pacific, impacting subsurface temperature. The relative contribution of Northern versus Southern Hemisphere prominence and/or interior versus western boundary pathways depends on the specific event. The anomalously warm case largely results from advection via the Southern hemisphere interior (65%), while the anomalously cold case largely results from advection via the Northern hemisphere western boundary (48%). The relatively slow travel times from the subtropics to the equator (> 4 years) suggests that these spiciness anomalies underpin a potentially predictable contribution to TPDV. However, not all decadal peaks in equatorial spiciness can be explained by remotely generated spiciness anomalies. In those cases, we propose that spiciness anomalies are generated in the equatorial zone through changes in the proportion of Northern/Southern hemisphere source waters due to their different mean spiciness distribution.

Automated summary

Understanding mechanisms of tropical Pacific decadal variability is crucial, as it can help differentiate between natural climate variability and human-induced climate change due to strong global teleconnections in the region. Using an ocean general circulation model, researchers found that advection of density compensated temperature anomalies from the eastern subtropics may contribute to TPDV, with a majority originating from the Southern Hemisphere and taking over 4 years to reach the equator.