An Atmospheric Signal Lowering the Spring Predictability Barrier in Statistical ENSO Forecasts

Abstract The loss of autocorrelations of tropical sea surface temperatures (SST) during late spring, also called the spring predictability barrier (SPB), is a factor that strongly limits the predictability of El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO), and especially the statistical SST‐based ENSO forecast...

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Main Authors: Dmitry Mukhin, Andrey Gavrilov, Aleksei Seleznev, Maria Buyanova
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2021-03-01
Series:Geophysical Research Letters
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL091287
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author Dmitry Mukhin
Andrey Gavrilov
Aleksei Seleznev
Maria Buyanova
author_facet Dmitry Mukhin
Andrey Gavrilov
Aleksei Seleznev
Maria Buyanova
author_sort Dmitry Mukhin
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The loss of autocorrelations of tropical sea surface temperatures (SST) during late spring, also called the spring predictability barrier (SPB), is a factor that strongly limits the predictability of El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO), and especially the statistical SST‐based ENSO forecasts starting from the winter‐spring season. Recent studies show that Pacific atmospheric circulation anomalies in winter‐spring may have a long‐term impact on the summer tropical climate via the SST footprint. Here, we infer an index based on sea level pressure (SLP) data from February to March in a single area surrounding Hawaii, and show that this area is the most informative part of the large SLP pattern initiating the SST footprinting mechanism. We then construct a statistically optimal linear model of the Nino 3.4 index taking this atmospheric index as a forcing. We find that this forcing efficiently lowers the SPB and provides significant improvements of interseasonal Niño 3.4 forecasts.
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spelling doaj-art-ab8b9d117c7a4daab3384fd9fdd9d0a82025-08-20T01:48:15ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072021-03-01486n/an/a10.1029/2020GL091287An Atmospheric Signal Lowering the Spring Predictability Barrier in Statistical ENSO ForecastsDmitry Mukhin0Andrey Gavrilov1Aleksei Seleznev2Maria Buyanova3Institute of Applied Physics of the RAS Nizhny Novgorod RussiaInstitute of Applied Physics of the RAS Nizhny Novgorod RussiaInstitute of Applied Physics of the RAS Nizhny Novgorod RussiaInstitute of Applied Physics of the RAS Nizhny Novgorod RussiaAbstract The loss of autocorrelations of tropical sea surface temperatures (SST) during late spring, also called the spring predictability barrier (SPB), is a factor that strongly limits the predictability of El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO), and especially the statistical SST‐based ENSO forecasts starting from the winter‐spring season. Recent studies show that Pacific atmospheric circulation anomalies in winter‐spring may have a long‐term impact on the summer tropical climate via the SST footprint. Here, we infer an index based on sea level pressure (SLP) data from February to March in a single area surrounding Hawaii, and show that this area is the most informative part of the large SLP pattern initiating the SST footprinting mechanism. We then construct a statistically optimal linear model of the Nino 3.4 index taking this atmospheric index as a forcing. We find that this forcing efficiently lowers the SPB and provides significant improvements of interseasonal Niño 3.4 forecasts.https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL091287Data‐driven modelsENSOSST footprintstatistical forecasts
spellingShingle Dmitry Mukhin
Andrey Gavrilov
Aleksei Seleznev
Maria Buyanova
An Atmospheric Signal Lowering the Spring Predictability Barrier in Statistical ENSO Forecasts
Geophysical Research Letters
Data‐driven models
ENSO
SST footprint
statistical forecasts
title An Atmospheric Signal Lowering the Spring Predictability Barrier in Statistical ENSO Forecasts
title_full An Atmospheric Signal Lowering the Spring Predictability Barrier in Statistical ENSO Forecasts
title_fullStr An Atmospheric Signal Lowering the Spring Predictability Barrier in Statistical ENSO Forecasts
title_full_unstemmed An Atmospheric Signal Lowering the Spring Predictability Barrier in Statistical ENSO Forecasts
title_short An Atmospheric Signal Lowering the Spring Predictability Barrier in Statistical ENSO Forecasts
title_sort atmospheric signal lowering the spring predictability barrier in statistical enso forecasts
topic Data‐driven models
ENSO
SST footprint
statistical forecasts
url https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL091287
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