Interdecadal modulation of interannual atmospheric and oceanic variability over the North Pacific

The interdecadal modulation of interannual variability of the atmosphere and ocean is exam-ined over the North Pacific by using Wavelet Transform combined with Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) or Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) analysis. For the period of record 1899–1997, the interannual vari...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Shoshiro Minobea, Nathan Mantuab
Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
Format: Text
Language:English
Subjects:
Online Access:http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.473.9508
http://www.sci.hokudai.ac.jp/~minobe/papers/Minobe_Mantua_1999_PiO.pdf
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Summary:The interdecadal modulation of interannual variability of the atmosphere and ocean is exam-ined over the North Pacific by using Wavelet Transform combined with Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) or Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) analysis. For the period of record 1899–1997, the interannual variability of the wintertime Aleutian Low, identified by either the North Pacific Index or the leading eigenvector (EOF-1) of North Pacific sea level pressure (SLP), exhibits an interdecadal modulation. Interannual variance in the strength of the Aleutian Low was relatively large from the mid-1920s to mid-1940s and in the mid-1980s, but relatively small in the periods from 1899 to the mid-1920s and from the mid-1940s to the mid-1970s. The periods of high (low) interannual variability roughly coincide with pentadecadal regimes having a time averaged relatively intense (weak) Aleutian Low. Consistent with this SLP variability the interannual variance in the zonal wind stress is strengthened in the central North Pacific after the 1970s. The SLP EOF-2, which is related to the North Pacific Oscillation, exhibited a strengthening trend from the beginning of this century to the mid-1960s. After the 1970s, the interannual variance of SLP EOF-2 is generally smaller than that in the period