The preconditioning role of Tropical Atlantic Variability in the development of the ENSO teleconnection: implications for the prediction of Nordeste rainfall

A comparison of rainfall variability in the semi-arid Brazilian Nordeste in observations and in two sets of model simulations leads to the conclusion that the evolving interaction between Tropical Atlantic Variability (TAV) and the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon can explain two puzzling features of ENSOs impact on the Nordeste: (1) the event-to-event unpredictability of ENSOs impact; (2) the greater impact of cold rather than warm ENSO events during the past 50 years. The explanation is in the preconditioning role of Tropical Atlantic Variability. When, in seasons prior to the mature phase of ENSO, the tropical Atlantic happens to be evolving consistently with the development expected of the ENSO teleconnection, ENSO and TAV add up to force large anomalies in Nordeste rainfall. When it happens to be evolving in opposition to the canonical development of ENSO, then the net outcome is less obvious, but also less anomalous. The more frequent occurrence of tropical Atlantic conditions consistent with those that develop during a cold ENSO event, i.e. of a negative meridional sea surface temperature gradient, explains the weaker warm ENSO and stronger cold ENSO anomalies in Nordeste rainfall of the latter part of the twentieth century. Close monitoring of the evolution of the tropical Atlantic in seasons prior to the mature phase of ENSO should lead to an enhanced forecast potential.     

Holocene climate variability as derived from alkenone sea surface temperature and coupled ocean-atmosphere model experiments

Holocene climate modes are identified by the statistical analysis of reconstructed sea surface temperatures (SSTs) from the tropical and North Atlantic regions. The leading mode of Holocene SST variability in the tropical region indicates a rapid warming from the early to mid Holocene followed by a relatively weak warming during the late Holocene. The dominant mode of the North Atlantic region SST captures the transition from relatively warm (cold) conditions in the eastern North Atlantic and the western Mediterranean Sea (the northern Red Sea) to relatively cold (warm) conditions in these regions from the early to late Holocene. This pattern of Holocene SST variability resembles the signature of the Arctic Oscillation/North Atlantic Oscillation (AO/NAO). The second mode of both tropical and North Atlantic regions captures a warming towards the mid Holocene and a subsequent cooling. The dominant modes of Holocene SST variability emphasize enhanced variability around 2300 and 1000 years. The leading mode of the coupled tropical-North Atlantic Holocene SST variability shows that an increase of tropical SST is accompanied by a decrease of SST in the eastern North Atlantic. An analogy with the instrumental period as well as the analysis of a long-term integration of a coupled ocean-atmosphere general circulation model suggest that the AO/NAO is one dominant mode of climate variability at millennial time scales.     

Sensitivity of tropical Atlantic climate to mixing in a coupled ocean–atmosphere model

The sensitivity of tropical Atlantic climate to upper ocean mixing is investigated using an ocean-only model and a coupled ocean–atmosphere model. The upper ocean thermal structure and associated atmospheric circulation prove to be strongly related to the strength of upper ocean mixing. Using the heat balance in the mixed layer it is shown that an excessively cold equatorial cold tongue can be attributed to entrainment flux at the base of the oceanic mixed layer, that is too large. Enhanced entrainment efficiency acts to deepen the mixed layer and causes strong reduction in the upper ocean divergence in the central equatorial Atlantic. As a result, the simulated sea surface temperature, thermocline structure, and upwelling velocities are close to the observed estimates. In the coupled model, the seasonal migration of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) reduces when the entrainment efficiency in the oceanic mixed layer is enhanced. The precipitation rates decrease in the equatorial region and increase along 10°N, resulting in a more realistic Atlantic Marine ITCZ. The reduced meridional surface temperature gradient in the eastern tropical Atlantic prohibits the development of convective precipitation in the southeastern part of the tropical Atlantic. Also, the simulation of tropical Atlantic variability as expressed in the meridional gradient mode and the eastern cold tongue mode improves when the entrainment efficiency is enhanced.     

热带海面温度对亚马逊旱季降水年际变率的影响及机制

用偏最小二乘(Partial Least Square,PLS)回归方法分析了 1979～2018年影响亚马逊旱季(6～8月)降水年际变率的热带海面温度模态.第一海面温度模态解释了总方差的64％,主要表现为前期亚马逊雨季(12月至次年2月)至旱季(6～8月)热带东太平洋La Ni?a型海面温度异常演变.12月至次年2月...     

Interannual and Interdecadal Variations in Heat Content of the Upper Ocean of the South China Sea

The vertically averaged temperature (TAV) from surface to 100 m depth of the South China Sea for the period 1959-1988 is analyzed. The results indicate that there is a significant long-term variability from interannual to interdecadal scales in the heat content in the upper ocean. The heat content of the upper ocean of the South China Sea increases evidently in the El Nino year. TAV anomaly in the ocean was negative from the end of 1950’s to early l970’s, and then changed to positive. The changes of TAV of the ocean are closely related to ENSO events, the Asian winter monsoon and the tropical atmospheric circulation anomalies.     

A DIAGNOSIS OF THE INTERANNUAL VARIABILITY OF SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE AND SURFACE WIND FIELD IN THE TROPICAL OCEANS AND ITS CORRELATIVE CHARACTERS WITH ENSO CYCLE*

Utilizing the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis monthly datasets,and based on the filter and standard deviation calculation,the interannual variability of sea surface temperature (SST) and 1000 hPa wind field for the tropical Pacific,Indian and Atlantic Oceans is investigated for the past 20 years (1979-1998).The characters of space-time evolution in SST anomalies (SSTA) for each ocean and corresponding wind anomaly field are acquired by using rotated principal component (RPC) and linear regression analysis methods.Using the method of correlation analysis.the characters of three tropical oceans correlated with ENSO are investigated.The contemporary correlation between the SSTA in the Indian Ocean and in the equatorial eastern Pacific is positive,and there is a weak negative correlation between the SSTA in the equatorial east Atlantic Ocean and in the equatorial eastern Pacific.The lead-lag correlation analysis indicates that the SSTA in the equatorial Indian Ocean lags the dominant Pacific ENSO mode by 3 months,and the SSTA in the equatorial Atlantic Ocean leads ENSO mode by 6 months.The ENSO-correlated components in tropical Indian Ocean and tropical Atlantic Ocean display much the same amount of total variance in each ocean,i.e..14% in the Indian Ocean and 12% in the Atlantic Ocean and the maximums are all above 40%.     

Water vapour transport from the tropical Atlantic and summer rainfall in tropical southern Africa

An empirical orthogonal functions analysis of the onshore flow of moisture along the west coast of southern Africa using NCEP-DOE AMIP II Re-analyses suggests two dominant modes of variability that are linked to (a) variations in the circulation linked with the South Atlantic anticyclone (b) the intensity of the flow that penetrates from the tropical Atlantic. The second mode, referred as the Equatorial Westerly mode, contributes the most to moisture input from the Atlantic onto the subcontinent at tropical latitudes. Substantial correlations in austral summer between the Atlantic moisture flux in the tropics and rainfall over the upper lands surrounding the Congo basin suggest the potential role played by this zonal mode of water vapour transport. Composites for austral summer months when this Equatorial Westerly mode had a particularly strong expression, show an enhanced moisture input at tropical latitudes that feeds into the deep convection occurring over the Congo basin. Sustained meridional energy fluxes result in above normal rainfall east and south of the Congo belt. During years of reduced equatorial westerly moisture flux, a deficit of available humidity occurs in the southern tropics. A concomitant eastward shift of deep convection to the southwest Indian ocean and southeastern Africa, leads to below normal rainfall over the uplands surrounding the Congo basin.     

Coupled ocean-atmosphere surface variability and its climate impacts in the tropical Atlantic region

 This study examines time evolution and statistical relationships involving the two leading ocean-atmosphere coupled modes of variability in the tropical Atlantic and some climate anomalies over the tropical 120 °W–60 °W region using selected historical files (75-y near global SSTs and precipitation over land), more recent observed data (30-y SST and pseudo wind stress in the tropical Atlantic) and reanalyses from the US National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP/NCAR) reanalysis System on the period 1968–1997: surface air temperature, sea level pressure, moist static energy content at 850 hPa, precipitable water and precipitation. The first coupled mode detected through singular value decomposition of the SST and pseudo wind-stress data over the tropical Atlantic (30 °N–20 °S) expresses a modulation in the thermal transequatorial gradient of SST anomalies conducted by one month leading wind-stress anomalies mainly in the tropical north Atlantic during northern winter and fall. It features a slight dipole structure in the meridional plane. Its time variability is dominated by a quasi-decadal signal well observed in the last 20–30 ys and, when projected over longer-term SST data, in the 1920s and 1930s but with shorter periods. The second coupled mode is more confined to the south-equatorial tropical Atlantic in the northern summer and explains considerably less wind-stress/SST cross-covariance. Its time series features an interannual variability dominated by shorter frequencies with increased variance in the 1960s and 1970s before 1977. Correlations between these modes and the ENSO-like Nino3 index lead to decreasing amplitude of thermal anomalies in the tropical Atlantic during warm episodes in the Pacific. This could explain the nonstationarity of meridional anomaly gradients on seasonal and interannual time scales. Overall the relationships between the oceanic component of the coupled modes and the climate anomaly patterns denote thermodynamical processes at the ocean/atmosphere interface that create anomaly gradients in the meridional plane in a way which tends to alter the north–south movement of the seasonal cycle. This appears to be consistent with the intrinsic non-dipole character of the tropical Atlantic surface variability at the interannual time step and over the recent period, but produces abnormal amplitude and/or delayed excursions of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ). Connections with continental rainfall are approached through three (NCEP/NCAR and observed) rainfall indexes over the Nordeste region in Brazil, and the Guinea and Sahel zones in West Africa. These indices appear to be significantly linked to the SST component of the coupled modes only when the two Atlantic modes+the ENSO-like Nino3 index are taken into account in the regressions. This suggests that thermal forcing of continental rainfall is particularly sensitive to the linear combinations of some basic SST patterns, in particular to those that create meridional thermal gradients. The first mode in the Atlantic is associated with transequatorial pressure, moist static energy and precipitable water anomaly patterns which can explain abnormal location of the ITCZ particularly in northern winter, and hence rainfall variations in Nordeste. The second mode is more associated with in-phase variations of the same variables near the southern edge of the ITCZ, particularly in the Gulf of Guinea during the northern spring and winter. It is primarily linked to the amplitude and annual phase of the ITCZ excursions and thus to rainfall variations in Guinea. Connections with Sahel rainfall are less clear due to the difficulty for the model to correctly capture interannual variability over that region but the second Atlantic mode and the ENSO-like Pacific variability are clearly involved in the Sahel climate interannual fluctuations: anomalous dry (wet) situations tend to occur when warmer (cooler) waters are present in the eastern Pacific and the gulf of Guinea in northern summer which contribute to create a northward (southward) transequatorial anomaly gradient in sea level pressure over West Africa. Received: 14 April 1998 / Accepted: 24 December 1998     

热带海表温度和低层风场的年际变率及与ENSO循环的相关特征研究

采用 NCEP/NCAR的 1 979～ 1 998年逐月平均的海表温度及 1 0 0 0 h Pa风场资料 ,进行滤波和均方差计算 ,得到了热带太平洋、印度洋、大西洋海表温度 (SST)和风场的年际变化特征。用旋转主分量 (RPC)方法和投影法对热带三大洋海表温度距平 (SSTA)进行分析 ,得到了各大洋 SSTA演变的主要时空特征和相应的距平风场特征 ;并用相关分析研究热带三大洋与ENSO相关的特征 ,得到三大洋间的同期相关关系为 :印度洋 SSTA与赤道东太平洋 SSTA成正相关 ,而赤道东大西洋 SSTA与赤道东太平洋 SSTA成弱的负相关 ;赤道印度洋在落后于赤道东太平洋 3个月左右时正相关达到最大 ,赤道大西洋在超前于赤道东太平洋 6个月左右时负相关达到最大 ;热带印度洋和大西洋与 ENSO相关的分量对各自大洋海表温度年际变化的方差贡献数值相近 ,最大在 40 %以上 ,平均解释方差分别为 1 4%和 1 2 %。     

全球热带海气耦合距平模式及其数值模拟

用观测海温距平对一个中等分辨率的细网格大气模式和观测 FSU假风应力对全球热带三大洋距平海洋模式分别进行强迫试验。结果表明 :无论是大气模式还是海洋模式均在一定程度上较好地模拟了观测事实 ,热带大西洋的模拟效果好于热带印度洋。对大气模式而言 ,经向风距平的模拟要好于纬向风距平 ,热带大西洋西部好于东部 ,热带印度洋东部好于西部 ,赤道南侧好于北侧。对海洋模式而言 ,热带大西洋模拟最好的区域是赤道中东部 ,对赤道东印度洋的暖事件及偶极子事件年际变率模拟也较好。在此基础上 ,用和海气耦合模式同样的耦合方式将两者耦合起来 ,构成了一个中等复杂程度的全球热带海气耦合模式 ,这是进一步研究全球热带海气相互作用的基础     

Multidecadal-to-centennial SST variability in the MPI-ESM simulation ensemble for the last millennium

We assess the responses of North Atlantic, North Pacific, and tropical Indian Ocean Sea Surface Temperatures (SSTs) to natural forcing and their linkage to simulated global surface temperature (GST) variability in the MPI-Earth System Model simulation ensemble for the last millennium. In the simulations, North Atlantic and tropical Indian Ocean SSTs show a strong sensitivity to external forcing and a strong connection to GST. The leading mode of extra-tropical North Pacific SSTs is, on the other hand, rather resilient to natural external perturbations. Strong tropical volcanic eruptions and, to a lesser extent, variability in solar activity emerge as potentially relevant sources for multidecadal SST modes’ phase modulations, possibly through induced changes in the atmospheric teleconnection between North Atlantic and North Pacific that can persist over decadal and multidecadal timescales. Linkages among low-frequency regional modes of SST variability, and among them and GST, can remarkably vary over the integration time. No coherent or constant phasing is found between North Pacific and North Atlantic SST modes over time and among the ensemble members. Based on our assessments of how multidecadal transitions in simulated North Atlantic SSTs compare to reconstructions and of how they contribute characterizing simulated multidecadal regional climate anomalies, past regional climate multidecadal fluctuations seem to be reproducible as simulated ensemble-mean responses only for temporal intervals dominated by major external forcings.     

Interannual and Decadal Variability of Landfalling Tropical Cyclones in the Southeast Coastal States of the United States

The interannual variability of the Atlantic tropical cyclone(TC)frequency is well known.Separately,recent studies have also suggested that a much longer,multidecadal(40-60 year)trend might be emerging from the recent increase in Atlantic TC activity.However,the overall structure of the intrinsic frequencies(or temporal modes)of Atlantic TC activity is not yet known.The focus of this study is to systematically analyze the intrinsic frequencies of Atlantic TC activity using hurricane and tropical storm landfall data collected along the southeast coast(SEC)of the United States.Based on an Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) analysis of the frequency of landfall TCs along the SEC from 188701999,we have found that Atlantic TC activity has four primary,temporal modes.The interannual and multidecadal modes reported in the published literature are two such modes.After identifying all primary modes,the relative importance of each mode and its physical cause can be analyzed.For example,the most energetic mode is the interannual mode(2-7 year period).This mode is known to be associated with the 2-7 year El Nino/La Nino cycle.The average number of annual landfalling TCs along the SEC decreased by 24% during El Nino years,but did not show significant increase during weak and moderate La Nina years.However,intense La Nina years were generally associated with more than average landfalling TCs along the SEC.The effects of El Nino and La Nina also became more significant when only hurricanes were considered.The significance of the effects of El Nino and La Nina on landfalling TCs and hurricanes in different US southeast coastal states showed significant differences.     

Large-scale variability modes of freshwater flux and precipitation over the Atlantic

 Precipitation (P) and freshwater (E-P) fluxes at the air-sea interface are investigated in the Atlantic Ocean sector using the reanalyses of the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ERA) and of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP). A canonical correlation analysis method between these fields and sea level pressure (SLP) is used to identify patterns. We also test whether precipitation and freshwater fluxes can be reconstructed from SLP data. In the winter months, patterns associated with both the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the East Atlantic (EA) mode are identified. The signals are strong enough to be reconstructed from the reanalysis fields, and they correspond to a significant part of the variability. The NAO signal is more robust than the EA one. The NAO-related variability mode is also present when the monthly precipitation rate is averaged for the winter season and even for annual averages. However, in the later case, other variability of natural origin (for instance, ENSO variability) or noise from the model and assimilation system prevents the reconstruction of E-P associated with NAO from SLP variability. Difficulties are identified in the tropical Atlantic with a different behaviour of NCEP and ERA precipitation variability, especially near the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). The ERA patterns suggest a NAO signature in the tropical Atlantic which has clear monthly patterns and indicates a link between the phase of NAO and changes in the position and intensity of ITCZ. However, the analysis of winter rainfall based on satellite and in situ data does not support the monthly tropical pattern of ERA precipitation although it suggests a relation between convection near 15°S and NAO during northern winter. Received: 10 February 2000 / Accepted: 7 May 2001     

Precipitation over eastern South America and the South Atlantic Sea surface temperature during neutral ENSO periods

The dominant mode of coupled variability over the South Atlantic Ocean is known as “South Atlantic Dipole” (SAD) and is characterized by a dipole in sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies with centers over the tropical and the extratropical South Atlantic. Previous studies have shown that variations in SST related to SAD modulate large-scale patterns of precipitation over the Atlantic Ocean. Here we show that variations in the South Atlantic SST are associated with changes in daily precipitation over eastern South America. Rain gauge precipitation, satellite derived sea surface temperature and reanalysis data are used to investigate the variability of the subtropical and tropical South Atlantic and impacts on precipitation. SAD phases are assessed by performing Singular value decomposition analysis of sea level pressure and SST anomalies. We show that during neutral El Niño Southern Oscillation events, SAD plays an important role in modulating cyclogenesis and the characteristics of the South Atlantic Convergence Zone. Positive SST anomalies over the extratropical South Atlantic (SAD negative phase) are related to increased cyclogenesis near southeast Brazil as well as the migration of extratropical cyclones further north. As a consequence, these systems organize convection and increase precipitation over eastern South America.     

东北地区冬季气温对海温异常响应的研究

利用HadISST OI海温和中国东北地区92站逐日气温资料,使用广义平衡反馈分析方法(GEFA)结合EOF分析方法(GEFA-EOF)研究了近50a中国东北地区冬季气温对海表温度异常(SSTA)的响应.结果表明:对于热带和北半球中纬度5个海盆来说,东北地区冬季气温异常与同期热带大西洋和北大西洋海温异常有密切关系,与其他海盆关系不显著;热带大西洋的"正—负—正"三极型模态(TA3)以及北大西洋纬向上"正—负—正"三极型模态(NA3)分别对东北地区冬季气温的异常偏低和偏高有显著的强迫作用,且对北部地区的强迫作用大于南部地区.热带大西洋和北大西洋对东北地区冬季气温异常影响的可能途径为:热带大西洋TA3模态通过在北半球激发的"正—负—正"的遥相关波列,致使东亚大槽移至贝加尔湖地区,有利于极地冷空气南下至东北地区,导致该地区的冷冬;北大西洋的"正—负—正"三极型模态(NA3)直接响应使得东亚大槽减弱消失,极地冷空气南下受阻,导致该地区冬季气温异常偏高.     

North African climate variability. Part 1: Tropical thermocline coupling

Summary Tropical ocean thermocline variability is studied using gridded data assimilated by an ocean model in the period 1950–2000. The dominant patterns and variability are identified using EOF analysis applied to E–W depth slices of sea temperatures averaged over the tropics. After removing the annual cycle, an east–west ‘see-saw’ with an interannual to decadal rhythm is the leading mode in each of the tropical basins. In the case of the leading mode in the Pacific, the thermocline oscillation forms a dipole structure, but in the (east) Atlantic and (southwest) Indian Ocean there is a single center of action. The interaction of the ocean thermocline and atmospheric Walker circulations is studied through cross-modulus analysis of wavelet-filtered EOF time scores. Our study demonstrates how tropical ocean thermocline variability contributes to zonal circulation anomalies in the atmosphere. The equatorial Pacific thermocline oscillation explains 62 and 53% of the variability of the Pacific and Atlantic zonal overturning circulations, the latter driving convective polarity between North Africa and South America. The Pacific sea-saw leads the Atlantic zonal circulation by a few months.     

北大西洋年际变率的海气耦合模式模拟II：热带太平洋强迫

利用一个全球海气耦合模式(BCM),结合观测资料,讨论了热带太平洋强迫对北大西洋年际气候变率的影响。研究表明,BCM能够相对合理地模拟赤道太平洋的年际变率模态及相应的海温距平型和大气遥相关型,尽管其准3年的振荡周期过于规则。来自数值模式和观测上的证据都表明,北大西洋冬季海温的主导性变率模态,即自北而南出现的“- -”的海温距平型,受到来自热带太平洋强迫的显著影响,其正位相与赤道中东太平洋冷事件相对应。换言之,赤道太平洋暖事件的发生,在太平洋-北美沿岸激发出PNA遥相关型,进而通过在北大西洋产生类似NAO负位相的气压距平型,削弱本来与NAO正位相直接联系的三核型海温距平。北大西洋三核型海温距平对热带太平洋强迫的响应,要滞后2—3个月的时间。     

Numerical simulation of Eurasian teleconnection pattern in atmospheric circulation during the Northern Hemisphere winter

In this paper, the anomaly of disturbance height field over Northern Hemisphere due to SST anomaly in the tropical Atlantic Ocean is simulated by using the general circulation model of IAP. A quasi-geostrophic, 34-level spherical coordinate model is also used to compute the distribution of atmospheric circulation anomaly when there is an anomaly of heat source over the tropical Atlantic. The computed results show that, owing to the heat source anomaly over the tropical Atlantic, the EU-pattern anomaly in the winter circulation may be caused. Namely, a ridge will be enhanced over the northwest Europe, a trough will be deepened over Siberia, but a positive anomaly of disturbance height field will be formed over the northeast China, Japan and other areas of East Asia. Moreover, the numerically simulated results show that the above-mentioned EU-pattern anomalies of circulation are due to the propagations of planetary wave train. About 15 days after an anomaly of the heat source over the tropical Atlantic is injected, the EU-pattern anomaly of atmospheric circulation is formed. This is in good agreement with the results analysed theoretically. On the leave from Geophysical Institute, Faculty of Science in Tokyo University, Japan.     

NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF EURASIAN TELECONNECTION PATTERN IN ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATION DURING THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE WINTER

In this paper, the anomaly of disturbance height field over Northern Hemisphere due to SST anomaly in the tropical Atlantic Ocean is simulated by using the general circulation model of 1AP. A quasi-geostrophic, 34-level spherical coordinate model is also used to compute the distribution of atmospheric circulation anomaly when there is an anomaly of heat source over the tropical Atlantic. The computed results show that, owing to the heat source anomaly over the tropical Atlantic, the EU-pattern anomaly in the winter circulation may be caused. Namely, a ridge will be enhanced over the northwest Europe, a trough will be deepened over Siberia, but a positive anomaly of disturbance height field will be formed over the northeast China, Japan and other areas of East Asia. Moreover, the numerically simulated results show that the above-mentioned EU-pattern anomalies of circulation are due to the propagations of planetary wave train. About 15 days after an anomaly of the heat source over the tropical Atlantic is     

Understanding and simulating the link between African easterly waves and Atlantic tropical cyclones using a regional climate model: the role of domain size and lateral boundary conditions

Using a suite of lateral boundary conditions, we investigate the impact of domain size and boundary conditions on the Atlantic tropical cyclone and african easterly Wave activity simulated by a regional climate model. Irrespective of boundary conditions, simulations closest to observed climatology are obtained using a domain covering both the entire tropical Atlantic and northern African region. There is a clear degradation when the high-resolution model domain is diminished to cover only part of the African continent or only the tropical Atlantic. This is found to be the result of biases in the boundary data, which for the smaller domains, have a large impact on TC activity. In this series of simulations, the large-scale Atlantic atmospheric environment appears to be the primary control on simulated TC activity. Weaker wave activity is usually accompanied by a shift in cyclogenesis location, from the MDR to the subtropics. All ERA40-driven integrations manage to capture the observed interannual variability and to reproduce most of the upward trend in tropical cyclone activity observed during that period. When driven by low-resolution global climate model (GCM) integrations, the regional climate model captures interannual variability (albeit with lower correlation coefficients) only if tropical cyclones form in sufficient numbers in the main development region. However, all GCM-driven integrations fail to capture the upward trend in Atlantic tropical cyclone activity. In most integrations, variations in Atlantic tropical cyclone activity appear uncorrelated with variations in African easterly wave activity.