The Role of Coupled North Pacific Atmosphere-Ocean Interactions in Impacts of Tibetan Plateau Snow Anomalies on the Northern Hemisphere Winter Atmospheric Circulation

Previous studies indicate observed influences of autumn and winter Tibetan Plateau (TP) snow-cover anomalies on the winter Pacific-North American (PNA) teleconnection. This study simulates atmospheric and oceanic responses to persistent autumn-winter TP snow forcing using an atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) and a coupled atmospheric-oceanic general circulation model (AOGCM), and quantifies the role of atmosphere-ocean interactions over North Pacific in TP snow effects. The AOGCM experiment induces a stronger and more realistic remote PNA response to heavy TP snow anomalies, and also a significant winter horseshoe-like North Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) pattern resulting from an anomalous equivalent barotropic cyclone, or a strengthened Aleutian low, with associated cyclonic wind stress anomalies. The horseshoe-like SST anomaly pattern is used as boundary forcing (without prescribed heavy TP snow) in another AOGCM experiment, which simulates an enhanced winter Aleutian low and a PNA-like response similar to the original AOGCM responses, indicating that that the direct Pacific-North American atmospheric response to persistent TP snow forcing in the AGCM is amplified in the AOGCM by the North Pacific midlatitude atmosphere-ocean interactions. This suggests that the mechanisms of the winter PNA responses to TP snow forcing involve dynamical atmospheric processes such as horizontal propagation of Rossby wave energy and transient eddy feedbacks, and also North Pacific atmosphere-ocean interactions, which provide a positive feedback on the development of the remote PNA teleconnection.

Automated summary

Previous studies have found the influence of Tibetan Plateau (TP) snow-cover anomalies on the winter Pacific-North American (PNA) teleconnection. This study uses atmospheric and oceanic general circulation models to simulate the response to TP snow forcing and identify the role of atmosphere-ocean interactions. The results show that the interaction amplifies the PNA response to TP snow forcing through the formation of a horseshoe-like North Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) pattern and the strengthening of the Aleutian low.