Lau, N-C., S. G. H. Philander, and M. J. Nath, 1992: Simulation of ENSO-like phenomena with a low-resolution coupled GCM of the global ocean and atmosphere. Journal of Climate, 5(4), 284-307.

Abstract: A 140-year simulation of the ocean-atmosphere climate system has been performed by the GFDL Climate Dynamics Project using a low-resolution coupled general circulation model (GCM). The model was subjected to annually averaged insolation throughout the integration. This coupled system exhibits well-defined fluctuations in the tropical Pacific, with a preferred time scale of 3-4 years. The characteristics of these recurrent anomalies were examined by applying an extended empirical orthogonal function (EEOF) analysis to selected model variables. These results indicate that the simulated oscillations are accompanied by coherent changes in the atmospheric and oceanic circulation.

The spatial patterns associated with the leading EEOF mode indicate that SST anomalies make their first appearance off the Peru-Ecuador coast and then migrate steadily westward, with an average transit time of 12-15 months. The arrival and eventual decay of SST fluctuations in the western Pacific is typically followed by the initiation of anomalies of the opposite polarity along the American coasts. The space-time evolution of various meteorological and oceanographic signals exhibits well-defined phase relationships with the SST perturbations. Some aspects of the model behavior during these warm and cold episodes are reminiscent of observed phenomena associated with the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO).

Analysis of the climatological heat budget for the top ocean layer indicates a near balance between horizontal and vertical temperature advection by the time-mean flow, vertical diffusion, and heat input from the overlying atmosphere. Contributions of transient effects to this balance are negligible. The principal mechanisms associated with the simulated ENSO-like cycles were then studied by examining the local heat budget for the SST perturbations. It is shown that the relative importance of various linear advective processes in the heat budget exhibits a notable dependence on geographical location and on the specific phase of the ENSO-like cycle.