Ocean versus atmosphere control on western European wintertime temperature variability
Using a novel Lagrangian approach, we assess the relative roles of the atmosphere and ocean in setting interannual variability in western European wintertime temperatures. We compute sensible and latent heat fluxes along atmospheric particle trajectories backtracked in time from four western Europea...
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ftunivrhodeislan:oai:digitalcommons.uri.edu:gsofacpubs-3019 2024-02-04T10:02:14+01:00 Ocean versus atmosphere control on western European wintertime temperature variability Yamamoto, Ayako Palter, Jaime B. Lozier, M. Susan Bourqui, Michel S. Leadbetter, Susan J. 2015-12-01T08:00:00Z https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/gsofacpubs/2050 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-015-2558-5 unknown DigitalCommons@URI https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/gsofacpubs/2050 doi:10.1007/s00382-015-2558-5 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-015-2558-5 Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications Air–sea interaction Climate variability Lagrangian method text 2015 ftunivrhodeislan https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-015-2558-5 2024-01-08T19:10:01Z Using a novel Lagrangian approach, we assess the relative roles of the atmosphere and ocean in setting interannual variability in western European wintertime temperatures. We compute sensible and latent heat fluxes along atmospheric particle trajectories backtracked in time from four western European cities, using a Lagrangian atmospheric dispersion model driven with meteorological reanalysis data. The material time rate of change in potential temperature and the surface turbulent fluxes computed along the trajectory show a high degree of correlation, revealing a dominant control of ocean–atmosphere heat and moisture exchange in setting heat flux variability for atmospheric particles en route to western Europe. We conduct six idealised simulations in which one or more aspects of the climate system is held constant at climatological values and these idealised simulations are compared with a control simulation, in which all components of the climate system vary realistically. The results from these idealised simulations suggest that knowledge of atmospheric pathways is essential for reconstructing the interannual variability in heat flux and western European wintertime temperature, and that variability in these trajectories alone is sufficient to explain at least half of the internannual flux variability. Our idealised simulations also expose an important role for sea surface temperature in setting decadal scale variability of air–sea heat fluxes along the Lagrangian pathways. These results are consistent with previous studies showing that air–sea heat flux variability is driven by the atmosphere on interannual time scales over much of the North Atlantic, whereas the SST plays a leading role on longer time scales. Of particular interest is that the atmospheric control holds for the integrated fluxes along 10-day back trajectories from western Europe on an interannual time scale, despite that many of these trajectories pass over the Gulf Stream and its North Atlantic Current extension, regions where ocean dynamics ... Text north atlantic current North Atlantic University of Rhode Island: DigitalCommons@URI Climate Dynamics 45 11-12 3593 3607 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Rhode Island: DigitalCommons@URI |
op_collection_id |
ftunivrhodeislan |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Air–sea interaction Climate variability Lagrangian method |
spellingShingle |
Air–sea interaction Climate variability Lagrangian method Yamamoto, Ayako Palter, Jaime B. Lozier, M. Susan Bourqui, Michel S. Leadbetter, Susan J. Ocean versus atmosphere control on western European wintertime temperature variability |
topic_facet |
Air–sea interaction Climate variability Lagrangian method |
description |
Using a novel Lagrangian approach, we assess the relative roles of the atmosphere and ocean in setting interannual variability in western European wintertime temperatures. We compute sensible and latent heat fluxes along atmospheric particle trajectories backtracked in time from four western European cities, using a Lagrangian atmospheric dispersion model driven with meteorological reanalysis data. The material time rate of change in potential temperature and the surface turbulent fluxes computed along the trajectory show a high degree of correlation, revealing a dominant control of ocean–atmosphere heat and moisture exchange in setting heat flux variability for atmospheric particles en route to western Europe. We conduct six idealised simulations in which one or more aspects of the climate system is held constant at climatological values and these idealised simulations are compared with a control simulation, in which all components of the climate system vary realistically. The results from these idealised simulations suggest that knowledge of atmospheric pathways is essential for reconstructing the interannual variability in heat flux and western European wintertime temperature, and that variability in these trajectories alone is sufficient to explain at least half of the internannual flux variability. Our idealised simulations also expose an important role for sea surface temperature in setting decadal scale variability of air–sea heat fluxes along the Lagrangian pathways. These results are consistent with previous studies showing that air–sea heat flux variability is driven by the atmosphere on interannual time scales over much of the North Atlantic, whereas the SST plays a leading role on longer time scales. Of particular interest is that the atmospheric control holds for the integrated fluxes along 10-day back trajectories from western Europe on an interannual time scale, despite that many of these trajectories pass over the Gulf Stream and its North Atlantic Current extension, regions where ocean dynamics ... |
format |
Text |
author |
Yamamoto, Ayako Palter, Jaime B. Lozier, M. Susan Bourqui, Michel S. Leadbetter, Susan J. |
author_facet |
Yamamoto, Ayako Palter, Jaime B. Lozier, M. Susan Bourqui, Michel S. Leadbetter, Susan J. |
author_sort |
Yamamoto, Ayako |
title |
Ocean versus atmosphere control on western European wintertime temperature variability |
title_short |
Ocean versus atmosphere control on western European wintertime temperature variability |
title_full |
Ocean versus atmosphere control on western European wintertime temperature variability |
title_fullStr |
Ocean versus atmosphere control on western European wintertime temperature variability |
title_full_unstemmed |
Ocean versus atmosphere control on western European wintertime temperature variability |
title_sort |
ocean versus atmosphere control on western european wintertime temperature variability |
publisher |
DigitalCommons@URI |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/gsofacpubs/2050 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-015-2558-5 |
genre |
north atlantic current North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
north atlantic current North Atlantic |
op_source |
Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications |
op_relation |
https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/gsofacpubs/2050 doi:10.1007/s00382-015-2558-5 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-015-2558-5 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-015-2558-5 |
container_title |
Climate Dynamics |
container_volume |
45 |
container_issue |
11-12 |
container_start_page |
3593 |
op_container_end_page |
3607 |
_version_ |
1789968706957213696 |