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Atmospheric blocking: space-time links to the NAO and PNA

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Abstract

In the Northern hemisphere, regions characterized by an enhanced frequency of atmospheric blocking overlap significantly with those associated with the major extra-tropical patterns of large-scale climate variability—namely the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the Pacific North American (PNA) pattern. There is likewise an overlap in the temporal band-width of blocks and these climate patterns. Here the nature of the linkage between blocks and the climate patterns is explored by using the ERA-40 re-analysis data set to examine (1) their temporal and spatial correlation and (2) the interrelationship between blocks and the NAO/PNA. It is shown that a strong anti-correlation exists between blocking occurrence and the phase of the NAO (PNA) in the North Atlantic (western North Pacific), and that there are distinctive inter-basin differences with a clear geographical (over North Atlantic) and quantitative (over North Pacific) separation of typical blocking genesis/lysis regions during the opposing phases of the climate patterns. An Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) analysis points to a significant influence of blocking upon the NAO pattern (identifiable as the leading EOF in the Euro-Atlantic), and a temporal analysis indicates that long-lasting blocks are associated with the development of negative NAO/PNA index values throughout their life-time. In addition an indication of a cause-and effect relationship is set-out for the North Atlantic linkage.

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Acknowledgements

Thanks go to ECMWF and MeteoSwiss for providing access to the ERA-40 data set and to C. Appenzeller for discussions in Sect. 4. The study was funded in parts through the Swiss NCCR Climate Programme.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zurich, CHN M16.3, 8092, Zurich, Switzerland

    Mischa Croci-Maspoli, Cornelia Schwierz & Huw C. Davies

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  1. Mischa Croci-Maspoli
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  2. Cornelia Schwierz
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  3. Huw C. Davies
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Correspondence to Mischa Croci-Maspoli.

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Croci-Maspoli, M., Schwierz, C. & Davies, H.C. Atmospheric blocking: space-time links to the NAO and PNA. Clim Dyn 29, 713–725 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-007-0259-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-007-0259-4

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