Modulation of Cross-Isothermal Velocities with ENSO in the Tropical Pacific Cold Tongue

The tropical Pacific Ocean cold tongue (CT) plays a major role in the global climate system. The strength of the CT sets the zonal temperature gradient in the Pacific that couples with the atmospheric Walker circulation. This coupling is an essential component of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The CT is supplied with cold water by the Equatorial Undercurrent that follows the thermocline as it shoals toward the east, adiabatically transporting cold water toward the surface. As the thermocline shoals, its water is transformed through diabatic processes, producing water mass transformation (WMT) that allows water to cross mean isotherms. Here, we examine WMT in the cold-tongue region from a global high-resolution ocean simulation with saved budget terms that close its heat budget exactly. Using the terms of the heat budget, we quantify each individual component of WMT (vertical mixing, horizontal mixing, eddy fluxes, and solar penetration) and find that vertical mixing is the single most important contribution in the thermocline and solar heating dominates close to the surface. Horizontal diffusion is much smaller. During El Nino events, vertical mixing, and hence cross-isothermal flow as a whole, are much reduced, whereas, during La Nina periods, strong vertical mixing leads to strong WMT, thereby cooling the surface. This analysis demonstrates the enhancement of diabatic processes during cold events, which in turn enhances cooling of the CT from below the surface.

Automated summary

The cold tongue in the tropical Pacific Ocean plays a major role in the global climate system, affecting surface temperatures through processes such as water mass transformation and vertical mixing. During El Niño events, reduced vertical mixing weakens cooling, while during La Niña periods, enhanced vertical mixing leads to strong cooling processes.