The influence of ENSO on sea surface temperature variations in the China seas

Liu, Na; Wang, Hui; Ling, Tiejun; Feng, Li‐Cheng

doi:10.1007/s13131-013-0348-7

Cited by 16 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…1a and refs 14,22, 23, 24 for spatial variability). In spring and summer 2015, weakened surface winds in the northern SCS associated with a developing Pacific El Niño and diminished sea to air latent heat flux252627, were superposed on this secular trend (Fig. 1d,e).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 94%

Mass coral mortality under local amplification of 2 °C ocean warming

DeCarlo

Cohen

Wong

et al. 2017

Sci Rep

110

112

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A 2 °C increase in global temperature above pre-industrial levels is considered a reasonable target for avoiding the most devastating impacts of anthropogenic climate change. In June 2015, sea surface temperature (SST) of the South China Sea (SCS) increased by 2 °C in response to the developing Pacific El Niño. On its own, this moderate, short-lived warming was unlikely to cause widespread damage to coral reefs in the region, and the coral reef “Bleaching Alert” alarm was not raised. However, on Dongsha Atoll, in the northern SCS, unusually weak winds created low-flow conditions that amplified the 2 °C basin-scale anomaly. Water temperatures on the reef flat, normally indistinguishable from open-ocean SST, exceeded 6 °C above normal summertime levels. Mass coral bleaching quickly ensued, killing 40% of the resident coral community in an event unprecedented in at least the past 40 years. Our findings highlight the risks of 2 °C ocean warming to coral reef ecosystems when global and local processes align to drive intense heating, with devastating consequences.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 94%

Mass coral mortality under local amplification of 2 °C ocean warming

DeCarlo

Cohen

Wong

et al. 2017

Sci Rep

110

112

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“…6-1a). In spring and summer 2015, weakened surface winds in the northern SCS associated with a developing Pacific El Niño and diminished sea to air latent heat flux (Kleypas et al, 2015;Rong et al, 2007;Liu et al, 2013), were superimposed on this secular trend (Fig. 6-1d-e).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 94%

Coral biomineralization, climate proxies and the sensitivity of coral reefs to CO2-driven climate change

DeCarlo¹

2017

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Scleractinian corals extract calcium (Ca 2+ ) and carbonate (CO 2−3 ) ions from seawater to construct their calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ) skeletons. Key to the coral biomineralization process is the active elevation of the CO 2− 3 concentration of the calcifying fluid to achieve rapid nucleation and growth of CaCO 3 crystals. Coral skeletons contain valuable records of past climate variability and contribute to the formation of coral reefs. However, limitations in our understanding of coral biomineralization hinder the accuracy of (1) coral-based reconstructions of past climate, and (2) predictions of coral reef futures as anthropogenic CO 2 emissions drive declines in seawater CO 2− 3 concentration.In this thesis, I investigate the mechanism of coral biomineralization and evaluate the sensitivity of coral reef CaCO 3 production to seawater carbonate chemistry. First, I conducted abiogenic CaCO 3 precipitation experiments that identified the U/Ca ratio as a proxy for fluid CO 2− 3 concentration. Based on these experimental results, I developed a quantitative coral biomineralization model that predicts temperature can be reconstructed from coral skeletons by combining Sr/Ca -which is sensitive to both temperature and CO 2− 3-with U/Ca into a new proxy called "Sr-U". I tested this prediction with 14 corals from the Pacific Ocean and the Red Sea spanning mean annual temperatures of 25.7-30.1 ∘ C and found that Sr-U has uncertainty of only 0.5 ∘ C, twice as accurate as conventional coral-based thermometers. Second, I investigated the processes that differentiate reef-water and open-ocean carbonate chemistry, and the sensitivity of ecosystem-scale calcification to these changes. On Dongsha Atoll in the northern South China Sea, metabolic activity of resident organisms elevates reef-water CO 2− 3 twice as high as the surrounding open ocean, driving rates of ecosystem calcification higher than any other coral reef studied to date. When high temperatures stressed the resident coral community, metabolic activity slowed, with dramatic effects on reef-water chemistry and ecosystem calcification. Overall, my thesis highlights how the modulation of CO 2− 3 , by benthic communities on the reef and individual coral polyps in the colony, controls the sensitivity of coral reefs to future ocean acidification and influences the climate records contained in the skeleton.

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“…[3] A key process which has been known to regulate local winds, precipitation, typhoons, and thereby to determine the amplitude of the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM; Ha et al 2012;Seok and Seo 2021), might be associated with the western North Pacific Subtropical High (wNPSH; e.g., Wang et al 2000Yang and Lau 2004;Yim et al 2008;Du et al 2011;Fan et al 2013;Liu et al 2013;Xiang et al 2013;Xie et al 2016). The anomalous wNPSH is triggered by a cold sea surface anomaly, presumably after equatorial Pacific warming (i.e., El Niño) reaches its mature phases during the boreal winter months (Wang et al 2000Yang and Lau 2004;Xie et al 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The anomalous wNPSH is triggered by a cold sea surface anomaly, presumably after equatorial Pacific warming (i.e., El Niño) reaches its mature phases during the boreal winter months (Wang et al 2000Yang and Lau 2004;Xie et al 2016). Therefore, the literature has postulated a causal relationship between El Niño and YECS summer SST with a lag of several months (e.g., Wang et al 2000;Park and Oh 2000;Liu et al 2013;Wu et al 2016). Reported correlations are, however, generally low, along with an 3 inconsistent forcing region between studies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Regime Shift in the Interhemispheric Teleconnection between the Yellow and East China Seas and The Southeastern Tropical Pacific in The Southern Hemisphere during The Boreal Summer

Kim¹,

Kwon²,

Chung³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Through statistical estimations on reconstructed datasets for the period 1982−2020 after removing a long-term trend, we observed that there was a drastic regime shift in the early summer’s connection between the YECS and the tropical Pacific in the early 2000s. The summer YECS SSTs had seemed to be modulated by local oceanic and atmospheric processes along with their marginal coupling to the tropical Pacific during the pre-2003 period before the regime shift. In contrast, an interhemispheric YECS−tropical southeastern Pacific (SEP) coupling appeared after the regime shift. This teleconnection was at least partially attributed to a reduced El Niño signature in the tropical Pacific, which favors the emergence of the South Pacific meridional mode (SPMM) independently from ENSO signals. Precipitation anomalies in the western tropical Pacific act as an atmospheric bridge to mediate the air-sea interacted variability associated with the SPMM into the North Pacific. The susceptibility of the YECS to atmospheric forcing may highlight the role of SST over the YECS as a potential indicator of basin-scale climate changes.

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The influence of ENSO on sea surface temperature variations in the China seas

Cited by 16 publications

References 35 publications

Mass coral mortality under local amplification of 2 °C ocean warming

Mass coral mortality under local amplification of 2 °C ocean warming

Coral biomineralization, climate proxies and the sensitivity of coral reefs to CO2-driven climate change

A Regime Shift in the Interhemispheric Teleconnection between the Yellow and East China Seas and The Southeastern Tropical Pacific in The Southern Hemisphere during The Boreal Summer

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