Remote Influences of Large-scale Climate Modes

The Indonesian Seas respond to climate variability originating in both the Pacific and Indian Oceans. This strand examines how large-scale modes — including ENSO, the Indian Ocean Dipole and monsoon variability — alter the background state and the atmospheric and oceanic pathways that favour marine heatwaves.

Composite and correlation analyses link the timing of events to these modes, while the heat budget provides a way to test the proposed pathways rather than relying on coincidence alone.

The aim is to distinguish remote forcing from local response, and to explain why similar climate conditions do not always produce the same heatwave outcome.