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Coherent Multidecadal Atmospheric and Oceanic Variability in the North Atlantic: Blocking Corresponds with Warm Subpolar OceanWinters with frequent atmospheric blocking, in a band of latitudes from Greenland to Western Europe, are found to persist over several decades and correspond to a warm North Atlantic Ocean. This is evident in atmospheric reanalysis data, both modern and for the full 20th century. Blocking is approximately in phase with Atlantic multidecadal ocean variability (AMV). Wintertime atmospheric blocking involves a highly distorted jetstream, isolating large regions of air from the westerly circulation. It influences the ocean through windstress-curl and associated air/sea heat flux. While blocking is a relatively high-frequency phenomenon, it is strongly modulated over decadal timescales. The blocked regime (weaker ocean gyres, weaker air-sea heat flux, paradoxically increased transport of warm subtropical waters poleward) contributes to the warm phase of AMV. Atmospheric blocking better describes the early 20thC warming and 1996-2010 warm period than does the NAO index. It has roots in the hemispheric circulation and jet stream dynamics. Subpolar Atlantic variability covaries with distant AMOC fields: both these connections may express the global influence of the subpolar North Atlantic ocean on the global climate system.
Document ID
20120009088
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Hakkinen, Sirpa M. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Rhines, P. B. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Worthen, D. L. (RS Information Systems, Inc. United States)
Date Acquired
August 25, 2013
Publication Date
February 20, 2012
Subject Category
Meteorology And Climatology
Report/Patent Number
GSFC.ABS.6185.2012
Meeting Information
Meeting: 2012 Ocean Sciences Meeting
Location: Salt Lake City, UT
Country: United States
Start Date: February 20, 2012
End Date: February 24, 2012
Sponsors: American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, Oceanography Society, American Geophysical Union
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.

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