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Atmospheric conditions in the Atlantic sector during 1983 and 1984

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Abstract

The dramatic global climate variability during the period from 1982 to 1984 has presented a unique opportunity to diagnose and interpret the role of air/sea interactions over the tropical oceans. Recent reviews have summarized the observational and numerical evidence for air/sea interactions over the equatorial Pacific Ocean associated with the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon1–3. Here we present details of the atmospheric conditions in the Atlantic sector between 1983 and 1984. During the latter half of 1983, the atmospheric circulation over the equatorial Atlantic underwent a dramatic reversal: surface trade winds were substantially reduced; surface pressurs decreased; and cloudiness and rainfall increased over the ocean and adjacent regions of north-east Brazil. These regional changes over the equatorial Atlantic coincided with planetary-scale adjustments in the tropical atmosphere. While the atmospheric circulation over the tropical Pacific was experiencing an extraordinary departure from normal during 1983, as evidenced by a reversal in direction of the surface winds, the circulation over the Atlantic was in a building-up phase with stronger than usual surface winds. As the atmospheric circulation over the Pacific returned to normal during the latter half of 1983, the trade winds over the Atlantic relaxed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Climate Research Group, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California, 92093, USA

    John D. Horel

  2. Climate Analysis Center, National Meteorological Center, NWS/NOAA, Washington, DC, 20233, USA

    Vernon E. Kousky

  3. Instituto de Pesquisas Espaciais, 12.200 Sao Jose dos Campos, SP, Brazil

    Mary T. Kagano

Authors
  1. John D. Horel
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  2. Vernon E. Kousky
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  3. Mary T. Kagano
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Horel, J., Kousky, V. & Kagano, M. Atmospheric conditions in the Atlantic sector during 1983 and 1984. Nature 322, 248–251 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/322248a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/322248a0

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