Previous studies have indicated that the Atlantic Ocean acts as a pacemaker for the Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) mean state and variability.

The Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) could modulate the variability of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) through changing the Walker circulation, wave trains, storm track and surface winds. Both the ENSO and PDO are closely related to the East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM).

Thus it is reasonable to speculate that the AMO may modulate the Pacific SST-EAWM relationship, but exactly how remains unclear.

Based on the observations and models' simulation, Drs. HAO Xin and HE Shengping (from Nansen-Zhu International Research Centre, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences) found that the out-of-phase relationship between the variations in ENSO-like mode and the EAWM was significantly intensified when the AMO and ENSO-like SST anomalies are in phase.

"We found that the winter climate over East Asia was statistically significant warmer than normal when the ENSO-like mode and AMO were positively in phase.

In such cases, the Siberian high was generally significantly weakened and anomalous anticyclones emerged over the western North Pacific."

Said Dr. HAO, "The reverse patterns occurred when the ENSO-like mode and AMO both were in negative phase. In contrast, when the ENSO-like and AMO were out of phase, the anomalies related to the EAWM tended to exhibit relatively weaker features."

Their results suggested that the phase of AMO should be taken into account in the prediction of the EAWM-related climate based on the ENSO variability.

The study was published in Journal of Climate.

Tweet

Finding order in chaos to help buffer against climate change
Seattle WA (SPX) Mar 31, 2017
Resilience" is a buzzword often used in scientific literature to describe how animals, plants and landscapes can persist under climate change. It's typically considered a good quality, suggesting that those with resilience can withstand or adapt as the climate continues to change. But when it comes to actually figuring out what makes a species or an entire ecosystem resilient ? and how to ... read more

Related Links
Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Climate Science News - Modeling, Mitigation Adaptation

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only