Precipitation and the Associated Moist Static Energy Budget off Western Australia in Conjunction with Ningaloo Niño

Ningaloo Niño, a significant ocean-atmosphere climate event in the southeastern Indian Ocean, triggers distinct precipitation patterns off Western Australia. While sea surface temperature warming is most pronounced near western Australia (WA), the heaviest rainfall occurs off northwestern Australia (NWA). This discrepancy arises from differing moist static energy (MSE) transport processes: positive vertical MSE transport heats and moistens WA's atmosphere, but this effect is offset by negative horizontal advection. In contrast, NWA experiences significant radiative heating, surface heating, and both horizontal and vertical MSE advection, leading to intense summer precipitation. The study analyzed column-integrated MSE budgets to reveal these mechanisms, offering new insights into the rainfall patterns associated with Ningaloo Niño.

Zheng, T., Feng, T., Xu, K., & Cheng, X. (2020). Precipitation and the Associated Moist Static Energy Budget off Western Australia in Conjunction with Ningaloo Niño. Frontiers in Earth Science, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2020.597915