Diversity of La Niña onset
Abstract Three La Niña onset types were identified by the K-means cluster analysis of equatorial sea surface temperature anomaly evolutions during the past 111 years (1910–2020). The first type is characterized by a slow basin-wide transition from a neutral year to La Niña, driven by tropical North...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2025-07-01
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| Series: | npj Climate and Atmospheric Science |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-025-01141-6 |
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| Summary: | Abstract Three La Niña onset types were identified by the K-means cluster analysis of equatorial sea surface temperature anomaly evolutions during the past 111 years (1910–2020). The first type is characterized by a slow basin-wide transition from a neutral year to La Niña, driven by tropical North Atlantic (TNA) warming, which induced anomalous easterlies in the equatorial western Pacific through atmospheric Kelvin wave responses. The easterly anomalies initiate a cooling by triggering upwelling oceanic Kelvin waves, shoaling the thermocline, and strengthening the westward zonal currents. The second and third types are a transition from a central Pacific (CP) and a super eastern Pacific (EP) El Niño to La Niña. The former is attributed to the CP El $${\rm{Ni}}\tilde{{\rm{n}}}{\rm{o}}$$ Ni n ̃ o induced anomalous easterlies in EP that strengthened local surface latent heat flux and anomalous upwelling, whereas the latter is attributed to a substantially shoaling of ocean thermocline associated with the discharge of the preceding super El $${\rm{Ni}}\tilde{{\rm{n}}}{\rm{o}}$$ Ni n ̃ o . These characteristics differentiate diversified types of La Niña onset. |
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| ISSN: | 2397-3722 |