A new North Atlantic Oscillation index and its variability

A new North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index, the NAOI, is defined as the differences of normalized sea level pressures regionally zonal-averaged over a broad range of longitudes 80°W-30°E. A comprehensive comparison of six NAO indices indicates that the new NAOI provides a more faithful representation of the spatial-temporal variability associated with the NAO on all timescales. A very high signal-to-noise ratio for the NAOI exists for all seasons, and the life cycle represented by the NAOI describes well the seasonal migration for action centers of the NAO. The NAOI captures a larger fraction of the variance of sea level pressure over the North Atlantic sector (20°-90°N, 80°W-30°E), on average 10% more than any other NAO index. There are quite different relationships between the NAOI and surface air temperature during winter and summer. A novel feature, however, is that the NAOI is significantly negative correlated with surface air temperature over the North Atlantic Ocean between 10°-25°N and     

Zonal Indices for Europe 1780–1995 and Running Correlations with Temperature

Zonal circulation indices with monthly and seasonal resolutions are calculated based on gridded monthly mean sea-level pressure (SLP) reconstructed back to 1780 by Jones et al. (1999): an overall zonal index for the whole European area between 30°W and 40°E, a normalized index for the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), and a similar index for Central Europe. For most of the early time up to the mid-nineteenth century we get preferred negative anomalies in the NAO index for winter and preferred positive ones for summer. The turning points in cumulative anomalies - during the 1850s for winter and during the 1870s for summer - indicate a transition period in circulation modes from the "Little Ice Age" to the recent climate in Europe. Running correlations (time windows of 21 years with time steps of one year) between zonal indices and regional temperature time series from Central England, Stockholm and two Central European regions are all indicating major instationarities in these relationships with a particular decline in winter correlations around the turn from the nineteenth to the twentieth centuries. Aspects of different circulation patterns linked with these variabilities are discussed.     

Trend analysis of precipitation time series in Greece and their relationship with circulation using surface and satellite data: 1955–2001

Summary In this study, the trends of annual and seasonal precipitation time series were examined on the basis of measurements of 22 surface stations in Greece for the period 1955–2001, and satellite data during the period 1980–2001. For this purpose, two statistical tests based on the least square method and one based on the Mann-Kendall test, which is also capable of detecting the starting year of possible climatic discontinuities or changes, are applied. Greece, in general, presents a clear significant downward trend in annual precipitation for the period 1955–2001, which is determined by the respective decreasing trend in winter precipitation. Both winter and annual series exhibit a downward trend with a starting year being 1984. Satellite-derived precipitation time series could be an alternative means for diagnosing the variability of precipitation in Greece and detecting trends provided that they have been adjusted by surface measurements in the wider area of interest. The relationship between precipitation variability in Greece and atmospheric circulation was also examined using correlation analysis with three circulation indices: the well-known North Atlantic Oscillation Index (NAOI), a Mediterranean Oscillation Index (MOI) and a new Mediterranean Circulation Index (MCI). NAOI is the index that presented the most interesting correlation with winter, summer and annual precipitation in Greece, whereas the MOI and MCI were found to explain a significant proportion of annual and summer precipitation variability, respectively. The observed downward trend in winter and annual precipitation in Greece is linked mainly to a rising trend in the hemispheric circulation modes of the NAO, which are connected with the Mediterranean Oscillation Index.     

An Asymmetric Spatiotemporal Connection between the Euro-Atlantic Blocking within the NAO Life Cycle and European Climates

This paper examines an asymmetric spatiotemporal connection and climatic impact between the winter atmospheric blocking activity in the Euro-Atlantic sector and the life cycle of the North Atlantic Oscillation(NAO) during the period 1950–2012. Results show that, for positive NAO(NAO+) events, the instantaneous blocking(IB) frequency exhibits an enhancement along the southwest–northeast(SW–NE) direction from the eastern Atlantic to northeastern Europe(SW–NE pattern, hereafter), which is particularly evident during the NAO+decaying stage. By contrast, for negative NAO(NAO-)events, the IB frequency exhibits a spatially asymmetric southeast–northwest(SE–NW) distribution from central Europe to the North Atlantic and Greenland(SE–NW pattern, hereafter). Moreover, for NAO-(NAO+) events, the most marked decrease(increase) in the surface air temperature(SAT) in winter over northern Europe is in the decaying stage. For NAO+events, the dominant positive temperature and precipitation anomalies exhibit the SW–NE-oriented distribution from western to northeastern Europe, which is parallel to the NAO+-related blocking frequency distribution. For NAO-events, the dominant negative temperature anomaly is in northern and central Europe, whereas the dominant positive precipitation anomaly is distributed over southern Europe along the SW–NE direction. In addition, the downward infrared radiation controlled by the NAO's circulation plays a crucial role in the SAT anomaly distribution. It is further shown that the NAO's phase can act as an asymmetric impact on the European climate through producing this asymmetric spatiotemporal connection with the Euro-Atlantic IB frequency.     

Influence of the North Atlantic Oscillation on winter rainfall in Calabria (southern Italy)

Seasonal rainfall amounts, directly responsible for availability of water resources on a specified area, are strongly dependent on the climate system. In order to highlight some features of such dependence, generally circulation indexes based on the difference in the sea level pressure between two geographic areas are taken into account. In the present study, the relationships between winter rainfall series observed in the Calabria region (southern Italy) and the North Atlantic Oscillation Index (NAOI) have been analysed. Firstly, a correlation analysis between precipitation and the NAOI was performed. Subsequently, the influence of the different phases of the NAO on the winter precipitation has been detected by a composite analysis, and by identifying changes in the behaviour of the probability density functions (gamma distribution) fitted on monthly rainfall. The results evidence a clear link existing between the phases of the climatic index and the amount of winter rainfall.     

Interannual-to-decadal variability of the North Atlantic from an ocean data assimilation system

An ocean analysis, assimilating both surface and subsurface hydrographic temperature data into a global ocean model, has been produced for the period 1958–2000, and used to study the time and space variations of North Atlantic upper ocean heat content (HC). Observational evidence is presented for interannual-to-decadal variability of upper ocean thermal fluctuations in the North Atlantic related to the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) variability over the last 40 years. The assimilation scheme used in the ocean analysis is a univariate, variational optimum interpolation of temperature. The first guess is produced by an eddy permitting global ocean general circulation forced by atmospheric reanalysis from the National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP). The validation of the ocean analysis has been done through the comparison with objectively analyzed observations and independent data sets. The method is able to compensate for the model systematic error to reproduce a realistic vertical thermal structure of the region and to improve consistently the model estimation of the time variability of the upper ocean temperature. Empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis shows that an important mode of variability of the wintertime upper ocean climate over the North Atlantic during the period of study is characterized by a tripole pattern both for SST and upper ocean HC. A similar mode is found for summer HC anomalies but not for summer SST. Over the whole period, HC variations in the subtropics show a general warming trend while the tropical and north eastern part of the basin have an opposite cooling tendency. Superimposed on this linear trend, the HC variability explained by the first EOF both in winter and summer conditions reveals quasi-decadal oscillations correlated with changes in the NAO index. On the other hand, there is no evidence of correlation in time between the NAO index and the upper ocean HC averaged over the whole North Atlantic which exhibits a substantial and monotonic warming trend during the last two decades of the analysis period. The maximum correlation is found between the leading principal component of winter HC anomalies and NAO index at 1 year lag with NAO leading. For SST anomalies significant correlation is found only for winter conditions. In contrast, for HC anomalies high correlations are found also in the summer suggesting that the summer HC keeps a memory of winter conditions.     

Annual and seasonal variability of precipitation in Vojvodina,Serbia

Annual and seasonal variability of precipitation observed at 92 stations in Vojvodina (Serbia) were analyzed during the period 1946–2006. The rainfall series were examined by means of the empirical orthogonal functions (EOF). The first set of singular vectors explains from 68.8 % (in summer) to 81.8 % (in winter) of the total variance. The temporal variability of the time series associated with the main EOF configurations (the principal components, PCs) was examined using the Mann–Kendall test and the spectral analysis. The time series of PC1 revealed decreasing trend in the winter and spring precipitation and increasing trend in the autumn, summer, and annual precipitation. The relationships between the first PC and circulation patterns, such as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), the East Atlantic (EA) pattern, and East Atlantic/West Russia pattern, were also investigated. The PC1, displaying temporal behavior of the first mode, demonstrated evident correspondence with the NAO index in analysis of the annual, winter, and autumn precipitation. Power spectra of the PC1 show statistically significant oscillations of about 3.3 years for the spring precipitation and about 8 and 15 years for the winter precipitation. Comparisons with spectral analysis of authors for some regions in Europe, most of them in the Mediterranean domain, show that similar periodicities are detected.     

Trends and Variability in Sea Ice and Icebergs off the Canadian East Coast

ABSTRACT

Seasonal time series of sea-ice area or extent in several regions along the east coast of Canada were compiled from several sources for the period 1901 to 2013 and compared with an index of ice extent off southwest Greenland, iceberg season length south of 48°N, air temperature, and other climate indices. Trends in winter ice area and iceberg season length are significant over the past 100 years and 30 years. Variability of winter ice area and iceberg season length is associated with a combination of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) indices superimposed on a negative trend. Thus, large declines in ice area and iceberg season length in the 1920s and 1990s can be attributed to a decreasing NAO index and a shift to the positive phase of the AMO at the end of these decades. Ice extent in southern areas such as the Scotian Shelf is more strongly correlated with the Western Atlantic index than with the NAO. Ice area trends (in percent per decade) are larger in magnitude and account for twice as much of the variance in ice area for summer than for winter, with summer trends significant over 30-, 60- and 100-year periods. Sea-ice variability is generally consistent with air temperature variability in the various regions; in the 1930s, during the early twentieth-century warming period, ice anomalies were higher and temperature anomalies were lower along the coast of eastern Canada than along the coast of southwestern Greenland.     

Temperature and precipitation fluctuations in the Czech Republic during the period of instrumental measurements

The history of early meteorological observations using instruments in the Czech Lands is described (the longest temperature series for Prague-Klementinum starts in 1775, precipitation series for Brno in 1803). Using the PRODIGE method, long-term monthly temperature and precipitation series from selected secular stations were homogenised (for 10 and 12 stations, respectively). All the seasonal and annual temperature series for the common period 1882–2010 show a significant positive linear trend with accelerated warming from the 1970s onwards. No significant linear trends were disclosed in the series of seasonal and annual precipitation totals. Correlation coefficients between the Czech series analysed decrease as distances between measuring stations increase. A sharper decrease of correlations for precipitation totals displays much weaker spatial relationships than those for mean temperatures. The highest correlations between all stations appeared in 1921–1950, the lowest in 1891–1920 (temperature) and 1981–2010 (precipitation). Wavelet analysis reveals that very distinct annual cycles as well as the slightly weaker semi-annual ones are better expressed for temperature series than for precipitation. Statistically significant cycles longer than 1?year are temporally unstable and sporadic for precipitation, while in the temperature series cycles of 7.4–7.7 and 17.9–18.4?years were recorded as significant by all stations in 1882–2010 (quasi-biennial cycle of 2.1–2.2?years for half the stations). Czech homogenous temperature series correlate best with those of the Northern Hemisphere for annual, spring and summer values (with significant correlation coefficients between 0.60 and 0.70), but this relation is temporally unstable. Circulation indices, such as the North Atlantic Oscillation Index (NAOI) and the Central European Zonal Index (CEZI), may explain the greater part of Czech temperature variability, especially from December to March and for the winter; however, this relationship is much weaker, or even random, for precipitation series. Further, relationships with the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) are weak and random. Relatively weak coincidences exist between statistically significant cycles in the Czech series and those detected in NAOI, CEZI and SOI series.     

The North Atlantic Oscillation and oceanic precipitation variability

Global North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) oceanic precipitation features in the latter half of the twentieth century are documented based on the intercomparison of multiple state-of-the-art precipitation datasets and the analysis of the NAO atmospheric circulation and SST anomalies. Most prominent precipitation anomalies occur over the ocean in the North Atlantic, where in winter a “quadrupole-like” pattern is found with centers in the western tropical Atlantic, sub-tropical Atlantic, high-latitude eastern Atlantic and over the Labrador Sea. The extent of the sub-tropical and high-latitude center and the amount of explained variance (over 50%) are quite remarkable. However, the tropical Atlantic center is probably the most intriguing feature of this pattern apparently linking the NAO with ITCZ variability. In summer, the pattern is “tripole-like” with centers in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, the North Sea/Baltic Sea and in the sub-polar Atlantic. In the eastern Indian Ocean, the correlation is positive in winter and negative in summer, with some link to ENSO variability. The sensitivity of these patterns to the choice of the NAO index is minor in winter while quite important in summer. Interannual NAO precipitation anomalies have driven similar fresh water variations in these “key” regions. In the sub-tropical and high-latitude Atlantic in winter precipitation anomalies have been roughly 15 and 10% of climatology per unit change of the NAO, respectively. Decadal changes of the NAO during the last 50 years have also influenced precipitation and fresh water flux at these time-scales, with values lower (higher) than usual in the high-latitude eastern North Atlantic (Labrador Sea) in the 1960s and the late 1970s, and an opposite situation since the early 1980s; in summer the North Sea/Baltic region has been drier than usual during the period 1965–1975 when the NAO was generally positive.     

夏季北大西洋涛动与我国天气气候的关系

利用1873-1995年北半球月平均海平面气压（SLP）资料，计算了夏季北大西洋涛动指数（NAOI）。通过NAOI与我国降水、气温和北半球球流5的相关计算以及强、弱小涛动年北半球环流异常的合成分析，发现，夏季强NAOI年，副高偏强，我国西南地区降水偏少，易出现一类和二类雨型；我国大部分地区气温明显偏高，此外，还研究了多时间尺度上，NAOI与东亚夏季风的关系，结果表明，夏季NAOI与东亚夏季风在年际、年代际、基本态尺度上都存在显著相关，强NAOI年，对应是强东亚夏季风特征，当NAOI处高（低）基本态时，夏季风处于高（低）基本态。     

Witnessing North Atlantic westerlies variability from ships’ logbooks (1685–2008)

A monthly index based on the persistence of the westerly winds over the English Chanel is constructed for 1685–2008 using daily data from ships’ logbooks and comprehensive marine meteorological datasets. The so-called Westerly Index (WI) provides the longest instrumental record of atmospheric circulation currently available. Anomalous WI values are associated with spatially coherent climatic signals in temperature and precipitation over large areas of Europe, which are stronger for precipitation than for temperature and in winter and summer than in transitional seasons. Overall, the WI series accord with the known European climatic history, and reveal that the frequency of the westerlies in the eastern Atlantic during the twentieth century and the Late Maunder Minimum was not exceptional in the context of the last three centuries. It is shown that the WI provides additional and complementary information to the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) indices. The analysis of WI series during the industrial era indicates an overall good agreement with the winter and high-summer NAO, with the exception of several multidecadal periods of weakened correlation. These decoupled periods between the frequency and the intensity of the zonal flow are interpreted on the basis of several sources of non-stationarity affecting the centres of the variability of the North Atlantic and their teleconnections. Comparisons with NAO reconstructions and long instrumental indices extending back to the seventeenth century suggest that similar situations have occurred in the past, which call for caution when reconstructing the past atmospheric circulation from climatic proxies. The robustness and extension of its climatic signal, the length of the series and its instrumental nature make the WI an excellent benchmark for proxy calibration in Europe and Greenland.     

Climatology and long-term variability of the annual cycle of air temperature over Europe

Climatology and long-term variations of characteristics of the annual cycle of air temperature over Europe are studied in terms of amplitudes and phases on the basis of data for 1901–2000. It is shown that the spatial amplitude distribution of the annual cycle of air temperature well reflects a decrease in the influence of the Atlantic and an increase in the continentality of the European climate from west to east. It is found that positive (negative) anomalies of annual mean air temperature are accompanied mainly by negative (positive) anomalies of amplitudes and phases of the annual cycle air temperature. In other words, abnormally warm years are characterized by smaller amplitudes of the annual cycle, and the maximum in the annual cycle of air temperature is observed earlier than usual. The first empirical orthogonal function (EOF) mode of temperature amplitudes is connected with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). It means that at a high NAO index one observes small (large) amplitudes of the annual cycle of air temperature over Europe.     

冬季与北大西洋涛动相关Rossby波列传播特征及对下游气候的影响

利用再分析数据,以在北半球冬季与北大西洋涛动(North Atlantic Oscillation,NAO)相关的向下游传播的准定常波列在欧洲地区是否发生反射为标准,将1957/1958年至2001/2002年这45个冬季分为高纬型和低纬型两类冬季,分别简称为在H型和L型冬季。在H(L)型冬季,和NAO相联系的向下游传播的Rossby波列主要沿高纬度(低纬度)路径传播。对比了在两种类型冬季NAO与同期大气环流、近地面温度(Surface Air Temperature,SAT)、海表面温度(Sea Surface Tempertaure,SST)和降水的关系。结果表明:大气环流方面,在H型冬季,300 hPa位势高度异常在西-西伯利亚和中-西伯利亚西部与NAO呈现正相关,而在L型冬季300 hPa位势高度异常在亚洲东海岸(约40°N)和北太平洋呈现正相关,在H型冬季与NAO相关的经向风异常在中纬度形成波列,而在L型冬季与NAO相关的经向风异常在副热带形成波列;SAT方面,在H型冬季SAT异常在欧亚大陆腹地高纬度地区与NAO呈现正相关,而在L型冬季与NAO相关的SAT异常在欧亚大陆腹地的高纬度地区相对较弱,但NAO造成的SAT异常可以扩展到亚洲东北部;降水方面,H型冬季与L型冬季主要区别在中国南方,在H型冬季降水异常与NAO的关系相对较弱,而在L型冬季降水异常与NAO呈现正相关关系;SST方面,同期SST异常在北大西洋中纬度海域与NAO呈现正相关,而在L型冬季与NAO相关的SST异常在北大西洋中纬度地区相对较弱,在北大西洋北部和南部较强。总体而言,在H型和L型冬季,NAO具有不同下游影响。     

Influences of the NAO on the North Atlantic CO_2 Fluxes in Winter and Summer on the Interannual Scale

The differences in the influences of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) on the air–sea CO_2 fluxes (f CO_2) in the North Atlantic (NA) between different seasons and between different regions are rarely fully investigated. We used observation-based data of f CO_2, surface-ocean CO_2partial pressure (p CO_(2sea)), wind speed and sea surface temperature(SST) to analyze the relationship between the NAO and f CO_2 of the subtropical and subpolar NA in winter and summer on the interannual time scale. Based on power spectrum estimation, there are significant interannual signs with a 2–6 year cycle in the NAO indexes and area-averaged f CO_2 anomalies in winter and summer from 1980 to 2015. Regression analysis with the 2–6 year filtered data shows that on the interannual scale the response of the f CO_2 anomalies to the NAO has an obvious meridional wave-train-like pattern in winter, but a zonal distribution in summer. This seasonal difference is because in winter the f CO_2anomalies are mainly controlled by the NAO-driven wind speed anomalies, which have a meridional distribution pattern, while in summer they are dominated by the NAO-driven SST anomalies, which show distinct zonal difference in the subtropical NA. In addition, in the same season, there are different factors controlling the variation of p CO_(2sea)in different regions. In summer, SST is important to the interannual variation of p CO_(2sea)in the subtropical NA, while some biogeochemical variables probably control the p CO_(2sea) variation in the subpolar NA.     

春季欧亚大陆地表气温变化特征的气候意义

研究了春季欧亚大陆地表气温的年际变化及其相联系的环流场特征,发现春季欧亚大陆地表气温年际变化呈现为大陆尺度的南北跷跷板式的空间分布特征, 即当中高纬度地表气温为正距平时,副热带地区则为负距平,反之亦然。这种空间分布型代表了欧亚大陆中高纬度地表气温年际变化的主要特征。进一步的研究表明,这种变化与前期冬季北大西洋涛动（NAO）有着显著的正相关,而与同期的NAO无关。同时,欧亚大陆地表气温异常存在着明显的从冬到夏的持续性。与东亚初夏气候变化关系的研究表明,春季欧亚大陆地表气温的变化通过影响鄂霍次克高压的变化进一步影响初夏梅雨的变化。当春季欧亚大陆中高纬度地表气温为正距平时,鄂霍次克高压偏强,初夏梅雨较活跃,反之亦然。     

Short－term Climatic Fluctuations in North Atlantic Oscillation and Frequency of Cyclonic Disturbances over North Indian Ocean and Northwest Pacific

Ｓｈｏｒｔ－ｔｅｒｍＣｌｉｍａｔｉｃＦｌｕｃｔｕａｔｉｏｎｓｉｎＮｏｒｔｈＡｔｌａｎｔｉｃＯｓｃｉｌｌａｔｉｏｎａｎｄＦｒｅｑｕｅｎｃｙｏｆＣｙｃｌｏｎｉｃＤｉｓｔｕｒｂａｎｃｅｓｏｖｅｒＮｏｒｔｈＩｎｄｉａｎＯｃｅａｎａｎｄＮｏｒｔｈｗｅｓｔＰａｃ...     

The Impact of the North Atlantic Oscillation on the development of ice on Lake Windermere

Windermere, the largest lake in England, seldom freezes over but the sheltered bays are usually covered with ice for several days every year. Here I analyse the meteorological factors influencing the development of ice on the lake between 1933 and 2000 and relate these to the regional and global changes in the weather. The results demonstrate that the methods used to describe the development of ice at high latitudes can also be used to predict the formation of ice on this temperate lake. The best indicator of change was the number of ice-days recorded every winter. Regression analyses based on a Poisson model showed that there were significant negative correlations between the number of ice-days and the local air temperature, the Central England Temperature and the North Atlantic Oscillation Index (NAOI). The relationship with the NAOI was particularly pronounced and explained 50% of the observed inter-annual variations. A hindcasting model based on the NAOI correctly predicted the most severe winters reported in the area between 1864 and 1910. The observed and predicted numbers of ice-days were also correlated with an index of sea ice in the Baltic. The results demonstrate that the number of ice-days reported on Windermere} can be used as a proxy indicator of climate change and show that the NAO has had a major effect on the development of ice on this lake for at least a hundred and thirty years.     

The North Atlantic Oscillation in coupled climate models: a CMIP1 evaluation

This study investigates the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) simulated by 17 global coupled ocean-atmosphere models participating in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP). Robust NAO indices are defined by calculating the leading principal components of winter time mean surface temperatures (land and sea) in the North Atlantic region (120°W-60°E, 20-80°N). Encouragingly, 13 out of 17 of the models capture the NAO surface temperature quadrupole pattern with centres of action over Northwest Europe, the northwest Atlantic, the southeastern USA, and the Middle East. The northern dipole is better captured than the southern dipole which is often simulated too far eastwards over the Atlantic Ocean. Out of the 17 models, ten models produce NAO indices that vary similar to the observations as stationary "weakly red noise" with only small correlations between successive winters (r < 0.3). Another five models drift monotonically towards warmer conditions, and two models exhibit long-term stochastic trends. Several of the models significantly overestimate the teleconnection between NAO and the tropical ENSO phenomenon.     

冬季北大西洋涛动与中国北方极端低温相关性的年代际变化

本文基于中国地面气温日值网格数据集（V2.0）,采用滑动相关和相关分析等方法,揭示了冬季北大西洋涛动（NAO）对中国北方极端低温影响的事实,进一步证实了东北后冬（1、2月）冷日（夜）与同期NAO相关性的年代际变化。研究发现:在20世纪80年代中期前,东北后冬冷日（夜）频发,与NAO的相关性较好,而在80年代中期后东北后冬冷日（夜）少发,与NAO的相关性减弱。其中,1月在1969~1988阶段,东北冷日（夜）与NAO的相关性最好,相关区域显著,相关系数可达-0.68（-0.66）,而在1989~2009阶段二者相关性最弱,相关区域不显著。进一步分析发现,在不同年代际背景下,NAO引起的大气环流异常是导致东北1月冷日（夜）与1月NAO相关性年代际变化的重要原因。相关性较好的年代,NAO引起的环流异常有利于冷涡等天气系统维持在贝加尔湖到东北一带,使东北地区气温偏低,冷日（夜）频发;相关性较弱的年代,不利于冷空气南下,使东北地区气温偏高,冷日（夜）少发。