Fig. 8: Decomposition of strong El Niño net heat flux. | Communications Earth & Environment

Fig. 8: Decomposition of strong El Niño net heat flux.

From: Strong El Niño and La Niña precipitation—sea surface temperature sensitivity under a carbon removal scenario

Fig. 8

Horizontal maps of ensemble-averaged changes in regressed DJF El Niño (a–c) net longwave anomaly (shading, unit: W m−2 K−1) and d–f net surface latent heat flux (shading, unit: W m−2 K−1) in three selected time slices in the CESM1.2 model. g–i Scatter plots of the equatorial eastern Pacific (90°-150°W, 5°S-5°N, black box) DJF high cloud anomaly (unit: %) and cloud longwave radiation anomalies (unit: W m−2) under El Niño conditions for three selected time slices. The regression coefficient is also given in each subplot. j Bar plots of the DJF El Niño equatorial eastern Pacific latent heat anomaly contributed by four subcomponents involving changes in SST anomaly, surface wind speed anomaly, surface stability, and relative humidity. Green, yellow, and red bars represent CO2 ramp-up, GMST peak, and CO2 ramp-down slices. k and l are similar to j, but for k the changes in El Niño-induced physical perturbations, and l for the corresponding mean state modulation strength. More details on latent heat flux decomposition are given in the Methods section. The Δ symbol indicates the ensemble-average change relative to the control simulation ensemble average. Stippled areas denote changes exceeding the 95% confidence level.

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