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Increased Indian Ocean-North Atlantic Ocean warming chain under greenhouse warming

  • Young Min Yang
  • , Jae Heung Park
  • , Soon Il An*
  • , Sang Wook Yeh
  • , Zhiwei Zhu
  • , Fei Liu
  • , Juan Li
  • , June Yi Lee
  • , Bin Wang
  • *Corresponding author for this work
  • Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology
  • CAS - Institute of Atmospheric Physics
  • Pohang University of Science and Technology
  • Yonsei University
  • Hanyang University
  • Sun Yat-Sen University
  • Pusan National University
  • Institute for Basic Science
  • University of Hawai'i at Mānoa

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

Abstract

Over the past half a century, both the Indian Ocean (IO) and the North Atlantic Ocean (NA) exhibit strong warming trends like a global mean surface temperature (SST). Here, we show that not only simply as a result of increased greenhouse gases, but the IO-NA interaction through atmospheric teleconnection boosts up their warming trends. Climate model simulations demonstrate that the IO warming increases the NA SST by enhancing the longwave radiation through atmospheric teleconnection, subsequently, the warmer NA SST-induced atmospheric teleconnection leads to IO warming by reducing evaporative cooling with weakened surface winds. This two-way interaction (i.e., IO-NA warming chain) acts as positive feedback that reinforces warming over both ocean basins. The Pacific Ocean is partly involved in this warming chain as a modulator in an interdecadal timescale. These results highlight the importance of understanding ocean-basin interactions that may provide a more accurate future projection of warming.

Original languageEnglish
Article number3978
JournalNature Communications
Volume13
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 2022.12

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

  1. SDG 13 - Climate Action
    SDG 13 Climate Action

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