On the relationship between Indian Ocean sea surface temperature and the transition from ElNino to LaNina

The relationship between Indian Ocean sea surface temperature and the transition of ElNino events into either LaNina or ElNino-Southern Oscillation neutral conditions is examined in both observations and the retrospective ensemble hindcasts of the National Center for Environmental Prediction Climate Forecast System. The southern Indian Ocean is shown to demonstrate a particularly robust and consistent relationship with the evolution of these transitions. These associations are described, and a physical mechanism involving air-sea interaction in the Indian and western Pacific Oceans is proposed. Observations suggest that easterly surface wind anomalies in the western Pacific Ocean are associated with the emergence of LaNina during boreal summer and fall. Here it is shown that these winds are significantly correlated to southern Indian Ocean sea surface temperature in the preceding spring that is characterized by a large-scale zonal dipole of cool and warm anomalies in the southwestern and s