Oceanic forcing of the wintertime North Atlantic Oscillation and European climate

Rodwell, Mark J.; Rowell, David P.; Folland, Chris K.

doi:10.1038/18648

Cited by 901 publications

(650 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…At the same time, in the Nordic Seas a SST decrease and advances of the ice cover are observed. Correspondingly, both observations and computer simulations show a strong correlation between a geographical SST distribution in the North Atlantic, a precipitation/ evaporation intensity, an ice cover in the Nordic Seas, and a NAO index (Hurrell, 1995;Rodwell et al, 1999;Dickson et al, 2000). A negative NAO mode is associated with steep meridional SST gradients over the eastern North Atlantic; by contrast, the positive NAO mode is characteristic for lower meridional SST gradients.…”

Section: Regional Atmospheric-oceanographic Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…As indicated by modelling experiments, the North Atlantic spatial SST gradients are strongly related to the changes in atmospheric circulation via maintaining atmospheric pressure differences which affects evaporation and precipitation (Cayan, 1992;Deser and Blackmon, 1993;Rodwell et al, 1999). In general, a steep meridional SST gradient over the North Atlantic sector causes a zonal orientation of atmospheric circulation with weaker atmospheric pressure gradients between the Icelandic-low and Azores-high and a strengthened Hadley cell, altogether comprising a decreased NAO index (Hurrell, 1995;Felis et al, 2004;McCloskey and Knowles, 2009).…”

Section: Ocean-atmospheric Circulation In the North Atlantic During Mmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In general, a steep meridional SST gradient over the North Atlantic sector causes a zonal orientation of atmospheric circulation with weaker atmospheric pressure gradients between the Icelandic-low and Azores-high and a strengthened Hadley cell, altogether comprising a decreased NAO index (Hurrell, 1995;Felis et al, 2004;McCloskey and Knowles, 2009). In analogy, our MIS 11c SST reconstructions derived from the various geographical areas identify a SST pattern characteristic for this modern-day negative NAO mode (Rodwell et al, 1999). Nevertheless, the direct comparison between the modern atmospheric circulation and the one of MIS 11c period should still be applied with some caution since the specific geographical distribution of sea ice as well as remnants of ice sheets/caps in the polar north which might have had a profound influence on the particular position of the relevant atmospheric pressure cells (see also, Justino and Peltier, 2005).…”

Section: Ocean-atmospheric Circulation In the North Atlantic During Mmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To enable this, we reconstructed interglacial climate dynamics in polar, middle, and low latitudes of the eastern North Atlantic during MIS 11c, calculated meridional SST gradients and reconstructed moisture regime in the Mediterranean region. Further, we extend our reconstructions to atmospheric circulation, because the NAO variability is strongly related to geographic SST patterns and impacts hydrological cycles in European and West African sector (Hurrell, 1995;Rodwell et al, 1999;Bader and Latif, 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The meridional temperature gradient in the eastern North Atlantic during MIS 11 and its link to the ocean–atmosphere system

Kandiano

Bauch

Fahl

et al. 2012

Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology

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Temporal and spatial patterns in eastern North Atlantic sea-surface temperatures (SST) were reconstructed for marine isotope stage (MIS) 11c using a submeridional transect of five sediment cores. The SST reconstructions are based on planktic foraminiferal abundances and alkenone indices, and are supported by benthic and planktic stable isotope measurements, as well as by ice-rafted debris content in polar and middle latitudes. Additionally, the larger-scale dynamics of the precipitation regime over northern Africa and the western Mediterranean region was evaluated from iron concentrations in marine sediments off NW Africa and planktic δ 13 C in combination with analysis of planktic foraminiferal abundances down to the species level in the Mediterranean Sea. Compared to the modern situation, it is revealed that during entire MIS 11c sensu stricto (ss), i.e., between 420 and 398 ka according to our age models, a cold SST anomaly in the Nordic seas co-existed with a warm SST anomaly in the middle latitudes and the subtropics, resulting in steeper meridional SST gradients than during the Holocene. Such a SST pattern correlates well with a prevalence of a negative mode of the modern North Atlantic Oscillation. We suggest that our scenario might partly explain the longer duration of wet conditions in the northern Africa during MIS 11c compared to the Holocene.

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Section: Regional Atmospheric-oceanographic Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Ocean-atmospheric Circulation In the North Atlantic During Mmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Ocean-atmospheric Circulation In the North Atlantic During Mmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The meridional temperature gradient in the eastern North Atlantic during MIS 11 and its link to the ocean–atmosphere system

Kandiano

Bauch

Fahl

et al. 2012

Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology

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“…Studies based on observational data have shown that extratropical SST anomalies could force the atmospheric circulation (Czaja and Frankignoul 2002). Various climate model simulations revealed that the ocean feeds back onto the atmosphere (e.g., Rodwell et al 1999;Metha et al 2000;Kushnir et al 2002). But in general, the ocean-atmosphere coupling can lead to an enhanced atmospheric low-frequency variability over the North Atlantic (for reviews see Kushnir et al 2002;Visbeck et al 2003;Czaja et al 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scale-Dependent Reconstruction of the NAO Index

Timm¹,

Ruprecht²,

Kleppek³

2004

J. Climate

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A method is presented to reconstruct decadal variations of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). The spectral characteristics of the NAO on time scales of decades and longer are of particular interest for the understanding of North Atlantic ocean-atmosphere interactions. The reconstruction is based on a transfer model calibration that uses bandpass-filtered time series. The maximum overlap discrete wavelet transform (MODWT) is applied for decomposing the time series variance into different time scales. A total of 43 proxies, including Greenland ice cores and European tree-ring chronologies, are selected and regionally grouped providing four independent reconstructions for the period 1700-1978. The mean reconstruction agrees well with two recently published reconstructions during most of the time period. However, there are considerable differences in the earliest part before 1750. Running correlations between the reconstructions indicate that time-dependent relations exist among the different NAO reconstructions. The results suggest that the geographical distribution of proxies strongly affects the reconstruction and could explain some of the apparent discrepancies among the reconstructions recently published in literature. In the early eighteenth century, external forcing (solar, volcanic) seems to mask the NAO signature within the proxies.

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Teleconnections in the Earth System

Chase

Pielke

Avissar

2005

Encyclopedia of Hydrological Sciences

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This article illustrates the large‐scale connectivity of the atmosphere–ocean coupled system and generalizes the concept to regional scales and to other components of the earth system. Connections at a distance, or teleconnections, can occur by the direct transfer of mass by changes in regular circulations or by propagating waves initiated by a variety of mechanisms. Questions as to what extent recognized teleconnection patterns can be associated with identifiable forcing mechanisms, to what extent these patterns are interrelated and how they might cause, react to, or interact with changing forcing such as changes in atmospheric composition, land cover, or the distribution of sea ice to produce climate changes are examined.

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Oceanic forcing of the wintertime North Atlantic Oscillation and European climate

Cited by 901 publications

References 28 publications

The meridional temperature gradient in the eastern North Atlantic during MIS 11 and its link to the ocean–atmosphere system

The meridional temperature gradient in the eastern North Atlantic during MIS 11 and its link to the ocean–atmosphere system

Scale-Dependent Reconstruction of the NAO Index

Teleconnections in the Earth System

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