Key Modes for Time-Space Evolutions of ENSO and PDO by ESMD Method

TL;DR

This paper introduces the ESMD method to analyze the time-space evolution of ENSO and PDO, revealing key modes and their interactions, especially the role of the half-decadal mode in ENSO-PDO dynamics.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel ESMD approach that captures dynamic evolution characteristics of ENSO and PDO, overcoming limitations of traditional static methods like EOF.

Findings

Key ENSO modes are quarter- and half-decadal.

Key PDO modes include half-, decadal, and interdecadal.

Half-decadal mode is a mutual component influencing both ENSO and PDO.

Abstract

The relation between El Ni\~{n}o-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) perplexes the researchers. Probably, this is due to the default choice on empirical orthogonal function (EOF) method whose outputs are merely static maps without evolution characteristics. To change this situation, the new extreme-point symmetric mode decomposition (ESMD) method is tried. It reveals that: (1) As the ENSO concerned, the key modes are the quarter-decadal and half-decadal ones; (2) As the PDO concerned, the key modes are the half-decadal, decadal and interdecadal ones; (3) The half-decadal mode can be seen as a mutual component for ENSO and PDO and it plays a key part in the so-called "ENSO-like" variation of PDO. In addition, an integrated version of ESMD is developed for time-space evolution. Its outputs have verified the warm-cold shiftings of ENSO and PDO for the most typical episode during 1997-2000.