Article Dans Une Revue Reviews of Geophysics Année : 2025

The El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Recharge Oscillator Conceptual Model: Achievements and Future Prospects

Wenju Cai
Soon-Il An
X. Fang
C. Wang
S. Zhao
F. Liu
S.‐k. Kim
Yann Planton
T. Geng
N. Chen
L. Geng
S. Hu
J.‐s. Kug
J.‐j. Luo
S. Mcgregor
B. Pagli
P. Priya
S. Stevenson
S. Thual

Résumé

Abstract The recharge oscillator (RO) is a simple mathematical model of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). In its original form, it is based on two ordinary differential equations that describe the evolution of equatorial Pacific sea surface temperature and oceanic heat content. These equations make use of physical principles that operate in nature: (a) the air‐sea interaction loop known as the Bjerknes feedback, (b) a delayed oceanic feedback arising from the slow oceanic response to winds within the equatorial band, (c) state‐dependent stochastic forcing from fast wind variations known as westerly wind bursts (WWBs), and (d) nonlinearities such as those related to deep atmospheric convection and oceanic advection. These elements can be combined at different levels of RO complexity. The RO reproduces ENSO key properties in observations and climate models: its amplitude, dominant timescale, seasonality, and warm/cold phases amplitude asymmetry. We discuss the RO in the context of timely research questions. First, the RO can be extended to account for ENSO pattern diversity (with events that either peak in the central or eastern Pacific). Second, the core RO hypothesis that ENSO is governed by tropical Pacific dynamics is discussed from the perspective of influences from other basins. Finally, we discuss the RO relevance for studying ENSO response to climate change, and underline that accounting for ENSO diversity, nonlinearities, and better links of RO parameters to the long term mean state are important research avenues. We end by proposing important RO‐based research problems.

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DOI

Cite 10.24381/cds.67e8eeb7 Jeu de données Copernicus Climate Change Service. (2021). ORAS5 global ocean reanalysis monthly data from 1958 to present [Data set]. ECMWF. https://doi.org/10.24381/CDS.67E8EEB7

DOI

Cite 10.48670/MDS-00327 Jeu de données European Union-Copernicus Marine Service. (2023). Global Total (COPERNICUS-GLOBCURRENT), Ekman and Geostrophic currents at the Surface and 15m [Data set]. Mercator Ocean International. https://doi.org/10.48670/MDS-00327

DOI

Cite 10.24381/cds.67e8eeb7 Jeu de données Copernicus Climate Change Service. (2021). ORAS5 global ocean reanalysis monthly data from 1958 to present [Data set]. ECMWF. https://doi.org/10.24381/CDS.67E8EEB7

https://github.com/CLIVAR-PRP/enso_metrics

Dates et versions

hal-05076017 , version 1 (21-05-2025)

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Jérôme Vialard, Fei‐fei Jin, Michael J. McPhaden, Alexey V. Fedorov, Wenju Cai, et al.. The El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Recharge Oscillator Conceptual Model: Achievements and Future Prospects. Reviews of Geophysics, 2025, 63 (1), ⟨10.1029/2024rg000843⟩. ⟨hal-05076017⟩
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