Modeled and Observed Multidecadal Variability in the North Atlantic Jet Stream and Its Connection to Sea Surface Temperatures Modeled and Observed Multidecadal Variability in the North Atlantic Jet Stream and Its Connection to Sea Surface Temperatures
Multidecadal variability in the North Atlantic jet stream in general circulation models (GCMs) is compared with that in reanalysis products of the twentieth century. It is found that almost all models exhibit multidecadal jet stream variability that is entirely consistent with the sampling of white...
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ftcdlib:oai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt1dd8b429 2023-06-18T03:41:54+02:00 Modeled and Observed Multidecadal Variability in the North Atlantic Jet Stream and Its Connection to Sea Surface Temperatures Modeled and Observed Multidecadal Variability in the North Atlantic Jet Stream and Its Connection to Sea Surface Temperatures Simpson, Isla R Deser, Clara McKinnon, Karen A Barnes, Elizabeth A 8313 - 8338 2018-10-01 application/pdf https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1dd8b429 unknown eScholarship, University of California qt1dd8b429 https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1dd8b429 public Journal of Climate, vol 31, iss 20 Climate Action Atmosphere-ocean interaction Atmospheric circulation North Atlantic Oscillation Climate variability Climate models Multidecadal variability Atmospheric Sciences Oceanography Geomatic Engineering Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences article 2018 ftcdlib 2023-06-05T17:59:18Z Multidecadal variability in the North Atlantic jet stream in general circulation models (GCMs) is compared with that in reanalysis products of the twentieth century. It is found that almost all models exhibit multidecadal jet stream variability that is entirely consistent with the sampling of white noise year-to-year atmospheric fluctuations. In the observed record, the variability displays a pronounced seasonality within the winter months, with greatly enhanced variability toward the late winter. This late winter variability exceeds that found in any GCM and greatly exceeds expectations from the sampling of atmospheric noise, motivating the need for an underlying explanation. The potential roles of both external forcings and internal coupled ocean–atmosphere processes are considered. While the late winter variability is not found to be closely connected with external forcing, it is found to be strongly related to the internally generated component of Atlantic multidecadal variability (AMV) in sea surface temperatures (SSTs). In fact, consideration of the seasonality of the jet stream variability within the winter months reveals that the AMV is far more strongly connected to jet stream variability during March than the early winter months or the winter season as a whole. Reasoning is put forward for why this connection likely represents a driving of the jet stream variability by the SSTs, although the dynamics involved remain to be understood. This analysis reveals a fundamental mismatch between late winter jet stream variability in observations and GCMs and a potential source of long-term predictability of the late winter Atlantic atmospheric circulation. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation University of California: eScholarship |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of California: eScholarship |
op_collection_id |
ftcdlib |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Climate Action Atmosphere-ocean interaction Atmospheric circulation North Atlantic Oscillation Climate variability Climate models Multidecadal variability Atmospheric Sciences Oceanography Geomatic Engineering Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences |
spellingShingle |
Climate Action Atmosphere-ocean interaction Atmospheric circulation North Atlantic Oscillation Climate variability Climate models Multidecadal variability Atmospheric Sciences Oceanography Geomatic Engineering Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences Simpson, Isla R Deser, Clara McKinnon, Karen A Barnes, Elizabeth A Modeled and Observed Multidecadal Variability in the North Atlantic Jet Stream and Its Connection to Sea Surface Temperatures Modeled and Observed Multidecadal Variability in the North Atlantic Jet Stream and Its Connection to Sea Surface Temperatures |
topic_facet |
Climate Action Atmosphere-ocean interaction Atmospheric circulation North Atlantic Oscillation Climate variability Climate models Multidecadal variability Atmospheric Sciences Oceanography Geomatic Engineering Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences |
description |
Multidecadal variability in the North Atlantic jet stream in general circulation models (GCMs) is compared with that in reanalysis products of the twentieth century. It is found that almost all models exhibit multidecadal jet stream variability that is entirely consistent with the sampling of white noise year-to-year atmospheric fluctuations. In the observed record, the variability displays a pronounced seasonality within the winter months, with greatly enhanced variability toward the late winter. This late winter variability exceeds that found in any GCM and greatly exceeds expectations from the sampling of atmospheric noise, motivating the need for an underlying explanation. The potential roles of both external forcings and internal coupled ocean–atmosphere processes are considered. While the late winter variability is not found to be closely connected with external forcing, it is found to be strongly related to the internally generated component of Atlantic multidecadal variability (AMV) in sea surface temperatures (SSTs). In fact, consideration of the seasonality of the jet stream variability within the winter months reveals that the AMV is far more strongly connected to jet stream variability during March than the early winter months or the winter season as a whole. Reasoning is put forward for why this connection likely represents a driving of the jet stream variability by the SSTs, although the dynamics involved remain to be understood. This analysis reveals a fundamental mismatch between late winter jet stream variability in observations and GCMs and a potential source of long-term predictability of the late winter Atlantic atmospheric circulation. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Simpson, Isla R Deser, Clara McKinnon, Karen A Barnes, Elizabeth A |
author_facet |
Simpson, Isla R Deser, Clara McKinnon, Karen A Barnes, Elizabeth A |
author_sort |
Simpson, Isla R |
title |
Modeled and Observed Multidecadal Variability in the North Atlantic Jet Stream and Its Connection to Sea Surface Temperatures Modeled and Observed Multidecadal Variability in the North Atlantic Jet Stream and Its Connection to Sea Surface Temperatures |
title_short |
Modeled and Observed Multidecadal Variability in the North Atlantic Jet Stream and Its Connection to Sea Surface Temperatures Modeled and Observed Multidecadal Variability in the North Atlantic Jet Stream and Its Connection to Sea Surface Temperatures |
title_full |
Modeled and Observed Multidecadal Variability in the North Atlantic Jet Stream and Its Connection to Sea Surface Temperatures Modeled and Observed Multidecadal Variability in the North Atlantic Jet Stream and Its Connection to Sea Surface Temperatures |
title_fullStr |
Modeled and Observed Multidecadal Variability in the North Atlantic Jet Stream and Its Connection to Sea Surface Temperatures Modeled and Observed Multidecadal Variability in the North Atlantic Jet Stream and Its Connection to Sea Surface Temperatures |
title_full_unstemmed |
Modeled and Observed Multidecadal Variability in the North Atlantic Jet Stream and Its Connection to Sea Surface Temperatures Modeled and Observed Multidecadal Variability in the North Atlantic Jet Stream and Its Connection to Sea Surface Temperatures |
title_sort |
modeled and observed multidecadal variability in the north atlantic jet stream and its connection to sea surface temperatures modeled and observed multidecadal variability in the north atlantic jet stream and its connection to sea surface temperatures |
publisher |
eScholarship, University of California |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1dd8b429 |
op_coverage |
8313 - 8338 |
genre |
North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation |
op_source |
Journal of Climate, vol 31, iss 20 |
op_relation |
qt1dd8b429 https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1dd8b429 |
op_rights |
public |
_version_ |
1769007612548874240 |