2017
DOI: 10.1038/ncomms16020
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Greening of the Sahara suppressed ENSO activity during the mid-Holocene

Abstract: The evolution of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) during the Holocene remains uncertain. In particular, a host of new paleoclimate records suggest that ENSO internal variability or other external forcings may have dwarfed the fairly modest ENSO response to precessional insolation changes simulated in climate models. Here, using fully coupled ocean-atmosphere model simulations, we show that accounting for a vegetated and less dusty Sahara during the mid-Holocene relative to preindustrial climate can redu… Show more

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Cited by 69 publications
(64 citation statements)
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“…GS also induces an intensification and westward extension of the Walker Circulation over the Pacific Ocean (Figure S8) through changes in equatorial Atlantic SSTs, which is explained by Pausata, Zhang, et al, The changes in the Walker Circulation enhance the low‐level southeasterly anomalies over the northern Indo‐Pacific Ocean (Figure f), which enhances the South Asian monsoon (i.e., Ning et al, ; Wang et al, ). This intensified Indian summer monsoon can excite the anomalous upper‐level west‐central Asian high (Ding & Wang, ).…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 93%
“…GS also induces an intensification and westward extension of the Walker Circulation over the Pacific Ocean (Figure S8) through changes in equatorial Atlantic SSTs, which is explained by Pausata, Zhang, et al, The changes in the Walker Circulation enhance the low‐level southeasterly anomalies over the northern Indo‐Pacific Ocean (Figure f), which enhances the South Asian monsoon (i.e., Ning et al, ; Wang et al, ). This intensified Indian summer monsoon can excite the anomalous upper‐level west‐central Asian high (Ding & Wang, ).…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 93%
“…The associated wind field deepens the equatorial thermocline in the east and causes a shoaling of the thermocline in the central Pacific, both reducing the Bjerknes feedback. Given that active vegetation cover and the associated dust emission reduction have not been included in previous modeling studies on ENSO in the Holocene, this study suggests that ENSO may be suppressed further by feedback processes that are missing in current models and the weaker suppression of MH ENSO activity in current CCGMs (~10%) than in proxy records (30-60%) may be caused partly by this deficiency of current CGCMs [95].…”
Section: Forcing Mechanismsmentioning
confidence: 87%
“…The coarse resolution in both the atmosphere and ocean models and the persistence tropical biases in current CGCMs [99] may contribute to the deficient ENSO simulation. A recent study further suggests that a vegetated and less dusty North Africa during the MH could also suppress ENSO significantly through its impact on the atmosphere and in turn atmospheric teleconnection into the tropical Pacific [95]. Moreover, the shift of ENSO centers of action [33,61] and the change in timing of ENSO events [88,93] further complicate this problem for both more effective data interpretations and more reliable model simulations.…”
Section: Model Simulations and Model-data Comparisonmentioning
confidence: 99%
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“…Model studies are unanimous in simulating dampened ENSO during the early and mid‐Holocene (e.g., An & Choi, ; Braconnot et al, ; Bush, ; Chiang et al, ; Clement et al, ; Otto‐Bliesner et al, ; Pausata et al, ; Roberts et al, ). Model results from discrete time intervals are reported relative to preindustrial conditions, whereas our data are reported relative to the core top (Figure ).…”
Section: The Holocene History Of Ensomentioning
confidence: 99%