Detrended fluctuation analysis of daily temperature records: Geographic dependence over Australia

Summary Daily temperature anomaly records are analyzed (61 for Australia, 18 for Hungary) by means of detrended fluctuation analysis. Positive long range asymptotic correlations extending up to 5–10 years are detected for each case. Contrary to earlier claims, the correlation exponent is not universal for continental stations. Interestingly, the dominant factor is geographic latitude over Australia: the general tendency is a decrease of correlation exponent with increasing distance from the equator. This tendency is in a complete agreement with the results found by Tsonis et al (1999) for 500-hPa height anomalies in the northern hemisphere. The variance of fluctuations exhibits an opposite trend, the larger is the distance from the equator, the larger the amplitude of intrinsic fluctuations. The presence of Tropospheric Biennial Oscillation is clearly identified for three stations at the northeastern edge of the Australian continent.