Distorted Pacific–North American teleconnection at the Last Glacial Maximum

• Published in: Climate of the Past
• Main Authors: Y. Hu, Y. Xia, Z. Liu, Y. Wang, Z. Lu, T. Wang
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Copernicus Publications 2020
• Subjects: Environmental pollution; TD172-193.5; Environmental protection; TD169-171.8; Environmental sciences; GE1-350; Pacific; Ice Sheet
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-199-2020; https://doaj.org/article/0eac6a6de6b34b8f8d73feb0b5dbbc2c

The Pacific–North American (PNA) teleconnection is one of the most important climate modes in the present climate condition, and it enables climate variations in the tropical Pacific to exert a significant influence on North America. Here, we show climate simulations in which the PNA teleconnection was largely distorted or broken at the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The distorted PNA is caused by a split in the westerly jet stream, which is ultimately forced by the large, thick Laurentide ice sheet that was present at the LGM. Changes in the jet stream greatly alter the extratropical waveguide, distorting wave propagation from the North Pacific to North America. The distorted PNA suggests that climate variability in the tropical Pacific, notably El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), would have little direct impact on North American climate at the LGM.