Global Patterns of ENSO-induced Precipitation
Aiguo Dai and T. M. L. Wigley
National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado
Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 27, No. 9, Pages 1283-1286, May 1, 2000
Although there have been many analyses of El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) induced
precipitation anomalies, global patterns from these analyses remain incomplete. Here we
combine recent satellite estimates of oceanic precipitation and historical rain-gauge records
to derive a global climatology of ENSO-induced precipitation anomalies using empirical
orthogonal function (EOF) analyses. The patterns suggest that the re-arrangement of
convection centers of the Valker circulation during ENSO events induces large precipitation
anomalies in the tropics, while associated changes in the monsoon systems (through the
Hadley cell) over the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans, and their interactions with
midlatitude westerlies generate coherent anomaly patterns over the extratropics. Our results
can be used to evaluate climate models and forecast ENSO-induced precipitation anomalies.
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Hongjun Zhang:
zhangho@ucar.edu