The Dynamics and Impacts of Ocean-Atmosphere Coupling on Regional and Global Climate

A special issue of Climate (ISSN 2225-1154).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2026 | Viewed by 1004

Special Issue Editors

Climate Change Research Section (CCR), Global Climate Dynamics Laboratory (CGD), National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), 1850 Table Mesa Dr., Boulder, CO 80305, USA
Interests: global and regional sea level change in the past and future; atlantic meridional overturning circulation and its impact on global and regional climate; influence of decadal-interdecadal variability on global and regional climate
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Marine Science and Technology College, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan 316022, China
Interests: mesoscale dynamics; mesoscale air–sea interaction; extreme ocean events; climate change; high-resolution modelling

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The ocean and atmosphere, as two of the most critical components of the Earth’s system, interact across a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. These interactions regulate the global energy balance and water cycle, significantly influencing both global and regional climate changes. Enhancing our understanding of ocean–atmosphere coupling at various scales is crucial for improving our capability in predicting different modes of climate variability. As a result, ocean–atmosphere coupling has become a cutting-edge field of interest in both oceanography and atmospheric science, with the potential to drive significant breakthroughs in predictions across scales and future climate change research.

Understanding ocean–atmosphere coupling requires a multi-faceted approach, incorporating perspectives across various time scales (daily, seasonal, inter-annual, decadal, and multi-decadal), spatial scales (large-scale, mesoscale, and submesoscale), and latitudinal variations (as dominant air–sea coupling processes can differ significantly in tropical, subtropical, mid-latitude, and polar regions). This research also necessitates the integration of diverse disciplines, including meteorology, oceanography, hydrology, biology, and ecology. Moreover, advancing our understanding depends on robust data support from observations, ocean–atmosphere coupled models, reanalysis products, and other sources. This Special Issue aims to foster a comprehensive understanding of the intricate interactions within ocean–atmosphere coupling and address critical scientific challenges that remain unresolved.

This Special Issue welcomes original research articles and reviews. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • The roles of air–sea interactions at different scales in the global energy and water cycle processes;
  • Changes in the ocean, atmosphere, and coupled systems in the context of global warming;
  • Air–sea interactions during extreme weather events, such as typhoons/hurricanes;
  • The relationship between ocean–atmosphere coupling processes in key oceanic regions and global climate change;

Development and application of numerical models, data assimilation methods, and reanalysis systems in ocean–atmosphere coupling research.

Dr. Aixue Hu
Dr. Mengrong Ding
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Climate is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • ocean–atmosphere coupling
  • multiple scales
  • climate change
  • S2S and S2D prediction
  • heat and momentum exchanges
  • ENSO
  • storm track

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

12 pages, 4286 KiB  
Article
El Niño Magnitude and Western Pacific Warm Pool Displacement. Part II: Future Changes Under Global Warming
by Zhuoxin Gu and De-Zheng Sun
Climate 2025, 13(5), 97; https://doi.org/10.3390/cli13050097 - 9 May 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 674
Abstract
Observations reveal a strong correlation between the magnitude of El Niño and the displacement of the eastern edge of the western Pacific warm pool (WPWP). In Part I, this relationship was examined in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) models using [...] Read more.
Observations reveal a strong correlation between the magnitude of El Niño and the displacement of the eastern edge of the western Pacific warm pool (WPWP). In Part I, this relationship was examined in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) models using their historical simulations, and it was found to be comparable to that in the observations. The present study extends the analysis to future projections under two Shared Socioeconomic Pathway (SSP) scenarios—SSP245 and SSP585—to assess whether this strong relationship persists under global warming. It is found that El Niño magnitude and WPWP boundary displacement in most models under global warming are as strongly correlated as in the observations and their historical simulations. Moreover, most models project that stronger El Niño events will be accompanied by a greater eastward displacement of the WPWP boundary. For models with a positive response, the ensemble projects an increase in El Niño magnitude of 0.21 ± 0.03 °C (0.20 ± 0.03 °C) under the SSP245 (SSP585) scenario, accompanied by an eastward displacement of the WPWP by 11.7 ± 1.3° (11.1 ± 1.0°) in longitude. These results further support the notion that El Niño is a consequence of the eastward extension of the WPWP. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop