The Connection Between the Hadley Circulation and Meridional Structure of Tropical SST during ENSO from 1950 to 1977

Abstract The connection between the meridional structure of tropical sea surface temperature (SST) and the Hadley circulation (HC) under the effect of ENSO (El Niño Southern Oscillation) from 1950 to 1977 is studied. We decompose the HC and zonal mean SST into equatorially symmetric (HES for HC, SES for SST) and asymmetric variations (HEA for HC, SEA for SST) to discuss the modulation of their connection by ENSO. During El Niño events from 1950 to 1977, the HC is less sensitive to the different SST meridional structures and expressed by response ratio. The ratio in La Niña and neutral events is around 4, which is equivalent to the result in the climatology. The reason for the decreased ratio during El Niño events is explored. The interdecadal variation in the linkage between the HC and tropical SST is due to a clear interdecadal shift in the impacts of ENSO on the tropical Indian Ocean (TIO) SST. For the period 1950–1977, when El Niño events occur, larger SST warming amplitude is observed over the northern TIO (0°–15°N, 50°–100°E). However, the southern TIO (15°S–0°, 50°–100°E) shows greater warming amplitude during 1980–2016. The anomalous SST variation over the TIO linked to El Niño events alters the meridional SST distribution, inducing anomalies in the meridional circulation. These results can help us to understand the interdecadal modulation by ENSO of the relationship between tropical SST and the HC.