Observations of the 18.6-year cycle of air pressure and a theoretical model to explain certain aspects of this signal

Evidence from barometric data in Japan, USSR, southern Europe, southern Africa, and South America shows that air pressure variations with period near 18.6-years can attain amplitudes as high as 0.9 mb, and are identified as induced by the luni-solar constituent tide M_n (M for moon and n for nodal). Luni-solar waveforms commonly exhibit modulation effects due to the superposition of a longer period component with 180° changes in phase. Thus, the waveform amplitudes can be highly nonstationary. Pressure gradients at this period over subcontinental distances show that the amplitudes imply nonequilibrium conditions. A theoretical coupling mechanism between E-W and N-S wind systems and the Coriolis force is envoked to explain the sub-continental extent and the, sometimes abrupt, amplitude changes of the pressure systems over small distances.