Influence of teleconnection patterns on global moisture transport during peak precipitation month

• Published in: International Journal of Climatology
• Main Authors: Vázquez, Marta, Nieto, Raquel, Liberato, Margarida L. R., Gimeno, Luis
• Other Authors: FC, Xunta de Galicia
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2022
• Subjects: Antarctic; Arctic; Indian; Pacific; The Antarctic; Antarc*; North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/joc.7843; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/joc.7843; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/joc.7843; https://rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/joc.7843

Abstract Teleconnection patterns are an important feature influencing the variability of moisture transport. This study explores the influence of the Arctic, Antarctic, Pacific‐North American, and El Niño–Southern Oscillations on moisture transport from major oceanic and continental moisture sources during the peak precipitation month. The positive phase of the Pacific‐North American teleconnection pattern increases the influence of Pacific Ocean moisture on western North America, while the negative phase increases the influence of Atlantic Ocean moisture over eastern North America, with differences between phases higher than 1.5 mm·day −1 over most of the area when the sources are the preferred. The positive phase of the Arctic Oscillation increases the importance of the Mediterranean as a source of moisture for western Europe while the negative phase increases the importance of the North Atlantic as a source with contribution increased in more than 2 mm·day −1 over Europe. The positive phase of the Antarctic Oscillation favours the contribution from the western Indian basin over eastern Africa, while in the negative phase the contribution from the southern Pacific is increased over northwestern Africa. For El Niño–Southern Oscillation, the main influence occurs over South America during El Niño events, increasing the moisture contributions from the South Pacific Ocean over southern South America and from South Atlantic over southeastern Brazil. El Niño events also increase the moisture transport from the North Atlantic over western Europe and from the North Pacific over North America. In contrast, La Niña events increase moisture contributions from the Pacific over Central America and northern South America, being the latter the area when higher differences between phases are observed.