Lu et al. (2026) Nonlinear Convection–SST Sensitivity as a Bridge for the Asymmetric Low‐Level Wind Response to ENSO

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: Geophysical Research Letters
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-04-09
• Authors: Jianing Lu, Ruihuang Xie, Fei Huang, Tingting Fan
• DOI: 10.1029/2025gl120843

Research Groups

Not specified in abstract.

Short Summary

This study investigates the cause of the observed asymmetry in atmospheric responses to El Niño and La Niña, revealing that it stems from the nonlinear sensitivity of atmospheric convection to sea surface temperature in the tropical Pacific.

Objective

• To identify the mechanism responsible for the observed asymmetry in atmospheric westerly anomalies during El Niño versus easterly anomalies during La Niña.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Tropical Pacific
• Temporal Scale: ENSO events

Methodology and Data

• Models used: CMIP6 simulations, Gill-type atmospheric model experiments
• Data sources: Observations (unspecified type, but likely sea surface temperature and atmospheric variables)

Main Results

• El Niño generates stronger westerly anomalies than the easterlies induced by La Niña.
• This asymmetry arises from the nonlinear sensitivity of atmospheric convection to total sea surface temperature (SST) in the tropical Pacific.
• Convection–SST sensitivity increases within the SST range of 25.5–28.75 °C, where small warm anomalies trigger disproportionately stronger convection anomalies.
• Stronger convection–SST sensitivity enhances low-level wind asymmetry.
• Gill-type model sensitivity experiments demonstrate a monotonic increase in wind asymmetry with stronger prescribed convection–SST sensitivity.

Contributions

• Identifies nonlinear convection–SST coupling as the fundamental mechanism linking ENSO SST anomalies to asymmetric atmospheric responses.
• Underscores the importance of coupled models realistically capturing the observed convection–SST sensitivity for improved ENSO simulations.

Funding

Not specified in abstract.

Citation

@article{Lu2026Nonlinear,
  author = {Lu, Jianing and Xie, Ruihuang and Huang, Fei and Fan, Tingting},
  title = {Nonlinear Convection–SST Sensitivity as a Bridge for the Asymmetric Low‐Level Wind Response to ENSO},
  journal = {Geophysical Research Letters},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1029/2025gl120843},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1029/2025gl120843}
}