Nonlinear dynamical systems theory has inspired a new set of useful tools to be applied in climate studies. In this work we presented specific examples where information has been gained by the application of methods from nonlinear dynamical systems theory. The main goal is to understand the relative importance of stochastic forcing versus deterministic coupling within the context of Coupled General Circulation Models. This work address this important subject by approaching this goal through the development of a hierarchy of models with increasing complexity that we assert contain the essential dynamics of ENSO. We examined the effect of noise in a low order model and found that it is not restricted to blurring the attractor trajectories in phase space, but includes important changes in the dynamics of the system. The main results indicate that the presence of noise in a nonlinear system has two different effects. The presence of noise acts to increase the maximum Lyapunov exponent and can result in noise induced chaos if the system was originally stable. However, the same arguments are not valid if the original system is already in the chaotic regime, where the noise inclusion acts to decrease the maximum Lyapunov exponent, therefore increasing the system stability. The system of interest includes coupled ocean-atmosphere interactions and here we mimic this interaction by coupling two low order models with very different dominant time scales. These subsystems interact in a complex, nonlinear way and the behavior of the whole system cannot be explained by a linear summation of dynamics of the system parts. We used information theory concepts to detect the influence of the slow system dynamics in synchronizing the fast system in coupled models. We introduced a fast-slow coupled system, where both the slowness of the ocean model and the intensity of the boundary forcing anomalies contribute to the asymmetry and phase locking of both subsystems. The mechanisms controlling the fast modelspread were uncovered revealing uncertainty dynamics depending on the location of ensemble members in the model’s phase space. As an intermediate step between low order models and CGCMs we study the effect of noise on an intermediate complexity model. The addition of gaussian noise to the Zebiak-Cane model in order to understand the effects of noise on its attractor led to a way of estimating the noise level based on the effects of noise on the correlation dimension curves. We investigate the intrinsic predictability of the coupled models used here, and the different time scales associated with fast and slow modes were detected using the Finite Size Lyapunov Exponents. We found new estimates for the prediction horizon of ENSO for the Zebiak-Cane model as well as for the NCAR CCSM3 model and observations. The whole analysis of observations and CCSM3 was possible after applying noise reduction techniques. We also improved our understanding of three different noise reduction techniques by comparing the Local Projective Noise Reduction, the Interactive Ensemble strategy, and a Random Interactive Ensemble applied to CCSM3. The main difference between these two noise reduction techniques is when the process is applied. The Local Projective Noise Reduction can be applied to both model and observations, and it is done a posteriori in phase space, therefore the trajectories to be adjusted already posses the physical mechanisms embedded in them. The Interactive Ensemble approach can only be applied to model simulations and has shown to be a very useful technique for noise reduction since its done a priori while the system evolves instead of a posteriori, besides the fact that it allows to retrieve the spatial distribution of the noise level in physical space.

No presente trabalho utiliza-se um m´etodo multi-escala para estudar de forma te´orica as intera¸coes nao lineares entre o oceano e a atmosfera atrav´es de ressonancia onda-onda. Desenvolve-se uma hierarquia de modelos acoplados oceano-atmosfera nao lineares que foram escalonados convenientemente para representar as principais escalas de variabilidade clim´atica (i.e., intrasazonal, interanual, e decenal). A enfase dos modelos desenvolvidos foi dado para a regiao tropical. As fontes de nao linearidade inclu´das no modelo sao de dois tipos: I) nao linearidade intr´nsica (advectiva) e II) nao linearidade relacionada com os termos da f´sica e ambas sao abordadas neste trabalho. Para obter as equa¸coes que regem a dinamica de intera¸coes ressonantes a partir da hierarquia de modelos acoplados, aplicou-se um m´etodo perturbativo multi-escala. As solu¸coes sao escritas em termos de solu¸coes de ordem dominante e solu¸coes seculares. Para as solu¸coes de ordem dominante e seculares utilizam-se as fun¸coes base do problema linear, em uma aproxima¸cao do tipo Galerkin. As propriedades das fun¸coes base permitem calcular de forma anal´tica os coeficientes de intera¸cao associados com os termos nao lineares, assim como tamb´em permitem projetar estes termos nos modos de oscila¸cao natural do sistema (ressonancia). Com este m´etodo obt´em-se modelos reduzidos que permitem determinar as contribui¸coes de diversos processos para a evolu¸cao em escala lenta de um determinado modo de variabilidade natural. Para aplicar estes conceitos ao problema de acoplamento oceano-atmosfera utiliza-se como Ansatz (hip´otese inicial para a solu¸cao do problema) um tripleto composto por duas ondas atmosf´ericas e uma onda oceanica, sendo uma onda de Kelvin e de Rossby na atmosfera e uma onda Kelvin no oceano. O tripleto escolhido representa uma aproxima¸cao de v´arios fenomenos encontrados na regiao tropical, e.g. o desenvolvimento do El Nino, a intera¸cao da oscila¸cao de Madden-Julian com o oceano, a intera¸cao entre el Nino e variabilidade intrasazonal. No presente trabalho ´e mostrado que existe a ressonancia envolvendo ondas atmosf´ericas e oceanicas e que a modula¸cao em baixa frequencia produto desta ressonancia pode afetar desde escalas r´apidas sin´oticas equatoriais, intrasazonais, interanuais e at´e variabilidade da ordem de dezenas de anos. Palavras chave: Dinamica Equatorial nao linear, Intera¸coes Ressonantes, Modelos Acoplados Oceano-Atmosfera, El Nino, Oscila¸cao de Madden Julian, Oscila¸coes Decenais (Decadal) / In the present work a multiscale method is used to study resonant nonlinear wave-wave interactions between the ocean and the atmosphere. A hierarchy of coupled atmosphere-ocean models is developed using typical scalings found in the tropical region with the aim to represent some of the dominant modes of climate variability (intraseasonal, interannual and decadal). The sources of nonlinearity included into model are of two types: I) intrinsic nonlinearity (advective form) and II) nonlinearity related to physical terms. A multi-scale perturbation method is applied to obtain equations governing dynamics of ressonant interactions. The solutions are described in terms of dominant and secular solutions. For the dominant modes basis functions of the linear problem are used in a approximation of the Galerkin type. The properties of the basis functions allows the analytical computation of the interaction coefficients associated with non-linear terms and the projection into the natural oscillation modes of the system (resonance). Using this method it is possible to obtain reduced models to determine the contributions of several processes to the slow time evolution of a specific mode of natural variability. To apply these concepts to the problem of atmosphere-ocean coupling an Ansatz composed of a three waves (two atmospheric Rossby and Kelvin waves and an ocean Kelvin wave) is used. The triad chosen represents a aproximation of several phenomena found in the tropical region, e.g. desenvolving of El Nino, interaction of the Madden-Julian oscillation with the ocean, interaction between El Nino and intra-seasonal variability, etc. It is shown that system allows a resonance involving atmospheric and oceanic waves and that the low-frequency modulation resulting from these ressonance can affect the system from fast equatorial synoptic scales to decadal timescales, including the intermediate scales i.e., intraseasonal and interannual.

No presente trabalho utiliza-se um m´etodo multi-escala para estudar de forma te´orica as intera¸coes nao lineares entre o oceano e a atmosfera atrav´es de ressonancia onda-onda. Desenvolve-se uma hierarquia de modelos acoplados oceano-atmosfera nao lineares que foram escalonados convenientemente para representar as principais escalas de variabilidade clim´atica (i.e., intrasazonal, interanual, e decenal). A enfase dos modelos desenvolvidos foi dado para a regiao tropical. As fontes de nao linearidade inclu´das no modelo sao de dois tipos: I) nao linearidade intr´nsica (advectiva) e II) nao linearidade relacionada com os termos da f´sica e ambas sao abordadas neste trabalho. Para obter as equa¸coes que regem a dinamica de intera¸coes ressonantes a partir da hierarquia de modelos acoplados, aplicou-se um m´etodo perturbativo multi-escala. As solu¸coes sao escritas em termos de solu¸coes de ordem dominante e solu¸coes seculares. Para as solu¸coes de ordem dominante e seculares utilizam-se as fun¸coes base do problema linear, em uma aproxima¸cao do tipo Galerkin. As propriedades das fun¸coes base permitem calcular de forma anal´tica os coeficientes de intera¸cao associados com os termos nao lineares, assim como tamb´em permitem projetar estes termos nos modos de oscila¸cao natural do sistema (ressonancia). Com este m´etodo obt´em-se modelos reduzidos que permitem determinar as contribui¸coes de diversos processos para a evolu¸cao em escala lenta de um determinado modo de variabilidade natural. Para aplicar estes conceitos ao problema de acoplamento oceano-atmosfera utiliza-se como Ansatz (hip´otese inicial para a solu¸cao do problema) um tripleto composto por duas ondas atmosf´ericas e uma onda oceanica, sendo uma onda de Kelvin e de Rossby na atmosfera e uma onda Kelvin no oceano. O tripleto escolhido representa uma aproxima¸cao de v´arios fenomenos encontrados na regiao tropical, e.g. o desenvolvimento do El Nino, a intera¸cao da oscila¸cao de Madden-Julian com o oceano, a intera¸cao entre el Nino e variabilidade intrasazonal. No presente trabalho ´e mostrado que existe a ressonancia envolvendo ondas atmosf´ericas e oceanicas e que a modula¸cao em baixa frequencia produto desta ressonancia pode afetar desde escalas r´apidas sin´oticas equatoriais, intrasazonais, interanuais e at´e variabilidade da ordem de dezenas de anos. Palavras chave: Dinamica Equatorial nao linear, Intera¸coes Ressonantes, Modelos Acoplados Oceano-Atmosfera, El Nino, Oscila¸cao de Madden Julian, Oscila¸coes Decenais (Decadal) / In the present work a multiscale method is used to study resonant nonlinear wave-wave interactions between the ocean and the atmosphere. A hierarchy of coupled atmosphere-ocean models is developed using typical scalings found in the tropical region with the aim to represent some of the dominant modes of climate variability (intraseasonal, interannual and decadal). The sources of nonlinearity included into model are of two types: I) intrinsic nonlinearity (advective form) and II) nonlinearity related to physical terms. A multi-scale perturbation method is applied to obtain equations governing dynamics of ressonant interactions. The solutions are described in terms of dominant and secular solutions. For the dominant modes basis functions of the linear problem are used in a approximation of the Galerkin type. The properties of the basis functions allows the analytical computation of the interaction coefficients associated with non-linear terms and the projection into the natural oscillation modes of the system (resonance). Using this method it is possible to obtain reduced models to determine the contributions of several processes to the slow time evolution of a specific mode of natural variability. To apply these concepts to the problem of atmosphere-ocean coupling an Ansatz composed of a three waves (two atmospheric Rossby and Kelvin waves and an ocean Kelvin wave) is used. The triad chosen represents a aproximation of several phenomena found in the tropical region, e.g. desenvolving of El Nino, interaction of the Madden-Julian oscillation with the ocean, interaction between El Nino and intra-seasonal variability, etc. It is shown that system allows a resonance involving atmospheric and oceanic waves and that the low-frequency modulation resulting from these ressonance can affect the system from fast equatorial synoptic scales to decadal timescales, including the intermediate scales i.e., intraseasonal and interannual.