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An intimate coupling of ocean–atmospheric interaction over the extratropical North Atlantic and Pacific

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Abstract

The inter-basin teleconnection between the North Atlantic and the North Pacific ocean–atmosphere interaction is studied using a coupled ocean–atmosphere general circulation model. In the model, an idealized oceanic temperature anomaly is initiated over the Kuroshio and the Gulf Stream extension region to track the coupled evolution of ocean and atmosphere interaction, respectively. The experiments explicitly demonstrate that both the North Pacific and the North Atlantic ocean–atmosphere interactions are intimately coupled through an inter-basin atmospheric teleconnection. This fast inter-basin communication can transmit oceanic variability between the North Atlantic and the North Pacific through local ocean-to-atmosphere feedbacks. The leading mode of the extratropical atmospheric internal variability plays a dominant role in shaping the hemispheric-scale response forced by oceanic variability over the North Atlantic and Pacific. Modeling results also suggest that a century (two centuries) long observations are necessary for the detection of Pacific response to Atlantic forcings (Atlantic response to Pacific forcing).

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Acknowledgement

This work is supported by National Key Basic Research Project (2007CB411800), Chinese National Science Foundation (NSFC) projects (40788002, 40576009, 40830106). We are indebted to one anonymous reviewer whose comments improve the paper substantially in many aspects. Discussions with Drs. Zhengyu Liu, Shilling Peng and Bin Wang are helpful.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Physical Oceanography Laboratory, Ocean University of China, 5 Yushan Road, Qingdao, 266003, China

    Chun Li, Lixin Wu, Qi Wang, Liwei Qu & Liping Zhang

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  1. Chun Li
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  2. Lixin Wu
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  3. Qi Wang
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  4. Liwei Qu
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  5. Liping Zhang
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Correspondence to Lixin Wu.

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Li, C., Wu, L., Wang, Q. et al. An intimate coupling of ocean–atmospheric interaction over the extratropical North Atlantic and Pacific. Clim Dyn 32, 753–765 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-009-0529-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-009-0529-4

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