@article{fdi:010079041,
  title = {{R}elevance of relative sea surface temperature for tropical rainfall interannual variability},
  author = {{I}zumo, {T}akeshi and {V}ialard, {J}{\'e}r{\^o}me and {L}engaigne, {M}atthieu and {S}uresh, {I}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{T}he coupling between sea surface temperature ({SST}) anomalies and rainfall is an important driver of tropical climate variability. {O}bservations however reveal inconsistencies, such as decreased convective rainfall in regions with positive {SST} anomalies in the tropical {I}ndian and {A}tlantic {O}ceans during and after {E}l {N}ino-{S}outhern {O}scillation ({ENSO}) events. {T}he upper troposphere warms during {E}l {N}ino events, stabilizing the atmosphere. {SST} anomalies only account for the influence of the surface. {U}sing theoretical arguments, we show that relative {SST} ({RSST}; defined as {SST} minus its tropical mean) anomalies, by also accounting for the influence of upper tropospheric temperature anomalies on gross moist stability, explain tropical convection interannual variations better than {SST} anomalies in observations and climate models. {T}his relation further improves when {RSST} anomalies are weighted by the precipitation climatology to account for low and high-precipitation regimes. {U}sing {RSST} is thus essential to understand {E}l {N}ino{S}outhern {O}scillation teleconnections and interactions between modes of tropical climate variability. {P}lain {L}anguage {S}ummary {R}ainfall is an important driver of coupled air-sea climate variability in tropical regions, through its influence on atmospheric motions. {S}ea surface temperature anomalies influence tropical rainfall, as a warm anomaly is expected to destabilize the atmosphere, yielding a rising motion and increased rainfall. {D}ecreased rainfall however sometimes occurs over positive sea surface temperature anomalies, notably during {E}l {N}ino events, because these events tend to warm the upper atmosphere in the entire tropics, hence stabilizing the atmosphere and inhibiting rainfall. {W}e show that the relative sea surface temperature, defined as the sea surface temperature minus its average over the tropical oceans, explains precipitation anomalies better than sea surface temperature. {R}elative sea surface temperature is thus a simple and powerful indicator to better understand year-to-year climate variability, notably {E}l {N}ino-{S}outhern {O}scillation influence on rainfall in the {A}tlantic and {I}ndian {O}ceans and its interactions with other tropical ocean-atmosphere coupled modes.},
  keywords = {{PACIFIQUE} ; {ATLANTIQUE} ; {OCEAN} {INDIEN}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{G}eophysical {R}esearch {L}etters},
  volume = {47},
  numero = {3},
  pages = {e2019{GL}086182 [11 p.]},
  ISSN = {0094-8276},
  year = {2020},
  DOI = {10.1029/2019gl086182},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010079041},
}