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Contribution of the sea surface temperature over the Mediterranean-Black Sea to the decadal shift of the summer North Atlantic Oscillation

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Abstract

Recent observational study has shown that the southern center of the summer North Atlantic Oscillation (SNAO) was located farther eastward after the late 1970s compared to before. In this study, the cause for this phenomenon is explored. The result shows that the eastward shift of the SNAO southern center after the late 1970s is related to the variability of the Mediterranean-Black Sea (MBS) SST. A warm MBS SST can heat and moisten its overlying atmosphere, consequently producing a negative sea level pressure (SLP) departure over the MBS region. Because the MBS SST is negatively correlated with the SNAO, the negative SLP departure can enhance the eastern part of the negative-phase of the SNAO southern center, consequently producing an eastward SNAO southern center shift. Similarly, a cold MBS SST produces an eastward positive-phase SNAO southern center shift.

The reason for why the MBS SST has an impact on the SNAO after the late 1970s but why it is not the case beforehand is also discussed. It is found that this instable relationship is likely to be attributed to the change of the variability of the MBS SST on the decadal time-scale. In 1951–1975, the variability of the MBS SST is quite weak, but in 1978–2002, it becomes more active. The active SST can enhance the interaction between the sea and its overlying atmosphere, thus strengthening the connection between the MBS SST and the SNAO after the late 1970s. The above observational analysis results are further confirmed by sensitivity experiments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nansen-Zhu International Research Centre (NZC), Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China

    Jianqi Sun  (孙建奇)

  2. Climate Change Research Center (CCRC), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China

    Jianqi Sun  (孙建奇)

  3. China Meteorological Administration Training Centre, Beijing, 100081, China

    Wei Yuan  (袁 薇)

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  1. Jianqi Sun  (孙建奇)
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  2. Wei Yuan  (袁 薇)
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Correspondence to Jianqi Sun  (孙建奇).

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Sun, J., Yuan, W. Contribution of the sea surface temperature over the Mediterranean-Black Sea to the decadal shift of the summer North Atlantic Oscillation. Adv. Atmos. Sci. 26, 717–726 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-009-8210-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-009-8210-8

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