SIO 210 Talley Lecture 9: Decadal and longer-term climate variability

Lynne Talley, 1999
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Reading and study questions

Reading (on reserve):

Decadal variability:

No good text references.
Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission technical series, 40: Oceanic interdecadal climate variability (strong emphasis on Pacific)

Study questions

1. What are important timescales for ocean variability and what sets the timescales?

2. What is the major decadal mode of variability for the Pacific? for the North Atlantic? tropical Atlantic? What are their spatial patterns? Describe changes in surface pressure, sea surface temperature that accompany the modes of variability.

Atlantic variability

Cayan, D. R., 1992. latent and sensible heat flux anomalies over the northern oceans: driving the sea surface temperature. J. Phys. Oceanogr., 22, 859-881.

Deser, C. and M.L. Blackmon, 1993. Surface climate variations over the North Atlantic Ocean during Winter: 1900-1989. J. Climate, 6, 1743-1753.

Dickson, R.R., J. Meincke, S.A. Malmberg, and A.J. Lee, 1988. The "great salinity anomaly" in the northern North Atlantic 1968-19482. Prog. Oceanogr., 20, 103-151.

Hurrell, J.W., 1995. Decadal trends in the North Atlantic Oscillation: regional temperatures and precipitation. Science, 269, 676-679.

Kushnir, Y., 1994. Interdecadal variations in North Atlantic sea surface temperature and associated atmospheric conditions. J. Clim., 7, 141-157.

Lazier, J. R. N., 1988. Temperature and salinity changes in the deep Labrador Sea 1962-1986. Deep Sea Res., 35, 1247-1253.

Nitta, T. and S. Yamada, 1989. Recent warming of tropical sea surface temperature and its relationship to the northern hemisphere circulation. J. Meteorol. Soc. Japan, 67, 375-383.

Roemmich, D. and C. Wunsch, 19484. Apparent changes in the climatic state of the deep North Atlantic Ocean. Nature, 307, 447-450.

Swift, J.H., 1984. A recent theta-S shift in the deep water of the northern North Atlantic. Climate Processes and climate Sensitivity, Geophys. Monogr. 29, Maurice Ewing Vol. 5. A.G.U.

Talley, L.D. and M.S. McCartney, 1982. Distribution and circulation of Labrador Sea Water., J. Phys. Oceanogr., 12, 1189-1205.

Pacific variability

Davis, R.E., 1976. Predictability of sea surface temperature and sea level pressure anomalies over the North Pacific Ocean. J. Phys. Oceanogr., 6, 249-266.

Ebbesmeyer, C., D. Cayan, D. McClain, W. D. Nichols, D. H. Peterson and K. Redmond, 1991. Sensitivity of marine biology to climate change in a North Pacific swath. Proceedings of the seventh annual Pacific Climate (PACLIM) workshop, Asilomar, California, April 10-13, 1990.

Hanawa, K., Y. Yoshikawa, and T. Watanabe, 1989. Composite analyses of wintertime wind stress vector fields with respect to SST anomalies in the western North Pacific and the ENSO events. Part I: SST composite. J. Met. Soc. Japan, 67, 385-400.

Latif, M. and T.P. Barnett, 1994. Causes of decadal climate variability over the North Pacific and North America. Science, 266, 634- 637.

Trenberth, K.E., 1990. Recent observed interdecadal climate changes in the northern hemisphere. Bull. Am. Met. Soc., 71, 988-993.

Trenberth, K.E. and J. W. Hurrell, 1994. Decadal atmosphere-ocean variations in the Pacific. Clim. Dyn., 9, 303-319.

Zhang, Y., J. M. Wallace and D. S. Battisti (1996) ENSO-like interdecadal variability: 1900-93. J. Climate, in press.

Southern hemisphere:

IPCC report