Test Master Calendar (OCR)

A synoptic view of the atmospheric circulation response to SST anomalies in the Kuroshio-Oyashio Extension Region: the importance of latent heating structure

In this talk, we explore the atmospheric circulation response to the western boundary current SST variability over the Kuroshio-Oyashio Extension (KOE) region in the North Pacific. In this research, we used the Variable-Resolution Community Atmosphere Model 6 with the North Pacific region enhanced up to 1/8deg resolution. Among various synoptic weather patterns that occur in the KOE region, the baroclinic anticyclonic weather pattern systematically enhanced with the warm SST anomaly forcing. The warm SST anomaly enhances latent heating, which strengthens and anchors the anticyclonic circulation. Since this system occurs more frequently than other identified weather patterns in the KOE region, the systematic enhancement of the dominant synoptic weather pattern influences the seasonal mean response to be anticyclonic as well. The results highlight that identifying the dominant synoptic weather pattern is key to understand the complex nature of the midlatitude air-sea interaction mechanism.