The North Atlantic Oscillation and its relationship with near surface temperature

• Published in: Geophysical Research Letters
• Main Authors: Slonosky, Victoria, Yiou, Pascal
• Other Authors: Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement Gif-sur-Yvette (LSCE), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Extrèmes : Statistiques, Impacts et Régionalisation (ESTIMR), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2001
• Subjects: [SDU.OCEAN]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Ocean; Atmosphere; [SDU.ENVI]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Continental interfaces; environment; North Atlantic; North Atlantic oscillation
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-03126064; https://hal.science/hal-03126064/document; https://hal.science/hal-03126064/file/2000GL012063.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1029/2000GL012063

International audience A new NAO index is presented here using homogenized surface pressure data from Reykjavik and Gibraltar (for November to March) and Reykjavik and Ponta Delgada (for April to October). This index suggests that the positive trend in recent years is not unprecedented, as the early 20th century was also a period of persistently positive NAO values. The relationship between the secular warming trend and the influence of the NAO on near-surface temperatures over the North Atlantic region and surrounding land masses is examined on a seasonal basis using standardized temperature anomalies since 1900. The nearsurface temperature field separates into two independent modes, which we designate a "warming" mode and dynamic ("NAO") mode, with distinct seasonal cycles.