Geophysical Research Letters:Vol. 27, No. 6, pp. 779-782
On the Teleconnectivity of the "Arctic Oscillation"
Clara Deser
National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado
(Received 23 July 1999, Revised 12 October 1999, Accepted 22 December 1999)
The term "Arctic Oscillation" (AO) has recently been introduced to describe the leading structure
of SLP variability over the Northern Hemisphere. A key feature of the AO is its zonally symmetric
appearance, with a primary center of action over the Arctic and opposing anomalies in midlatitudes.
Does the AO's annular appearance result from significant temporal correlations between SLP anomalies
at distant longitudes? The results presented indicate that the temporal coherence between the Arctic
and midlatitudes is strongest over the Atlantic sector, with weak correlations between the Atlantic
and Pacific midlatitudes, both on intraseasonal and interannual time scales during the past 50 yrs.
Hence, the "annular" character of the AO is more a reflection of the dominance of its Arctic center of
action than any coordinated behavior of the Atlantic and Pacific centers of action in the SLP field.
The AO is nearly indistinguishable from the leading structure of variability in the Atlantic sector (
eg., the North Atlantic Oscillation): their temporal correlation is 0.95 for monthly data.
Note: This abstract is courtesy of the American Geophysical Union (AGU), who owns sole rights to it. The
abstract is subject to AGU copyright laws and statutes. For more information, please visit the AGU website
at http://www.agu.org.
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