A Boolean delay equation model of an interdecadal Arctic climate cycle

A Boolean delay equation (BDE) model is presented for the interdecadal Arctic and Greenland Sea climate cycle recently proposed by Mysak, Manak and Marsden. It is shown that 15- to 20-year oscillations can occur in the model for a variety of time delays in the BDEs. However, both the period and structure of the oscillations are sensitive to the initial conditions. In an extended model, in which the convection in the Greenland Sea is dependent upon the ice conditions during each of several previous years as well as the current year, the solution structure is more realistic, with two jumps per period of oscillation.