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Interannual linkage between Arctic/North Atlantic Oscillation and tropical Indian Ocean precipitation during boreal winter

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Abstract

In the study authors analyzed the interannual relationship between the Arctic Oscillation (AO)/North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the tropical Indian Ocean (TIO) precipitation in boreal winter for the period 1979–2009. A significant simultaneous teleconnection between them is found. After removing the El Niño/Southern Oscillation and Indian Ocean dipole signals, the AO/NAO and the TIO precipitation (0°–10°S, 60°–80°E) yield a correlation of +0.56, which is also consistent with the AO/NAO-outgoing longwave radiation correlation of −0.61. The atmospheric and oceanic features in association with the AO/NAO-precipitation links are investigated. During positive AO/NAO winter, the Rossby wave guided by westerlies tends to trigger persistent positive geopotential heights in upper troposphere over about 20°–30°N and 55°–70°E, which is accompanied by a stronger Middle East jet stream. Meanwhile, there are anomalous downward air motions, strengthening the air pressure in mid-lower troposphere. The enhanced Arabian High brings anomalous northern winds over the northern Indian Ocean. As a result the anomalous crossing-equator air-flow enhances the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ). On the other hand, the anomalous Ekman transport convergence by the wind stress curl over the central TIO deepens the thermocline. Both the enhanced ITCZ and the anomalous upper ocean heat content favor in situ precipitation in the central TIO. The AO/NAO-TIO precipitation co-variations in the IPCC AR4 historical climate simulation (1850–1999) of Bergen Climate Model version 2 were investigated. The Indian Ocean precipitation anomalies (particularly the convective precipitation along the ITCZ), in conjunction with the corresponding surface winds and 200 hPa anticyclonic atmospheric circulation and upper ocean heat contents were well reproduced in simulation. The similarity between the observation and simulation support the physical robustness of the AO/NAO-TIO precipitation links.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by project 2012CB955401 and by Research Council of Norway (NFR) through the BlueArc (Impact of Blue Arctic on climate at high latitudes) and India-Clim (Decadal to multi-decadal variability in the Indian monsoon rainfall and teleconnection with Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation). Mao was also supported by KOPRI project PE12010. Gong was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China. ERA-Interim reanalysis data used in this study were obtained from ECMWF at http://www.ecmwf.int/. CMAP precipitation, ERSST and interpolated OLR data were provided by the NOAA/OAR/ESRL PSD, Boulder, Colorado, USA, from their Web site at http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/psd.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China

    Dao-Yi Gong, Rui Mao, Jing Yang, Miao Hu & Miaoni Gao

  2. Nansen-Zhu International Research Center, IAP/CAS, Beijing, 100029, China

    Yongqi Gao & Dong Guo

  3. Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center/Bjerknes Center for Climate Research, Bergen, Norway

    Yongqi Gao & Dong Guo

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  1. Dao-Yi Gong
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Gong, DY., Gao, Y., Guo, D. et al. Interannual linkage between Arctic/North Atlantic Oscillation and tropical Indian Ocean precipitation during boreal winter. Clim Dyn 42, 1007–1027 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-013-1681-4

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