The Atmospheric Response to Positive IPV, Positive AMV, and Their Combination in Boreal Winter

• Published in: Journal of climate 2019-07, Vol.32 (14), p.4193-4213
• Main Authors: Elsbury, Dillon, Peings, Yannick, Saint-Martin, David, Douville, Hervé, Magnusdottir, Gudrun
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 20th century; Aleutian low; Atlantic Oscillation; Atmosphere; Atmospheric circulation; Atmospheric models; Climate; Climate change; Climate models; Climatic extremes; Computer simulation; Convection; El Nino; Extreme weather; Global climate; Global climate models; Global temperatures; Investigations; Mean temperatures; Northern Hemisphere; Planetary waves; Precipitation; Regulators; Rossby waves; Sea surface; Sea surface temperature; Stratosphere; Stratospheric warming; Surface temperature; Temperature extremes; Variability; Walker circulation; Wave forces; Wave packets
• ISSN: 0894-8755; 1520-0442
• DOI: 10.1175/JCLI-D-18-0422.1

The interdecadal Pacific oscillation (hereafter termed IPV, using “variability” in lieu of ‘‘oscillation’’) and the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation (hereafter AMV, similar to IPV) are regulators of global mean temperature, large-scale atmospheric circulation, regional temperature and precipitation, and related extreme events. Despite a growing recognition of their importance, the combined influence of these modes of low-frequency sea surface temperature (SST) variability remains elusive given the short instrumental record and the difficulty of coupled climate models to simulate them satisfactorily. In this study, idealized simulations with two atmospheric global climate models (AGCMs) are used to show a partial cancellation of the North Pacific atmospheric response to positive IPV (i.e., deeper Aleutian low) by the concurrent positive phase of the AMV. This effect arises from a modulation of the interbasin Walker circulation that weakens deep convection in the western Pacific and the associated Rossby wave train into the northern extratropics. The weaker Aleutian low response is associated with less upward wave activity flux in the North Pacific; however, the associated stratospheric jet weakening is similar to when the +IPV alone forces the vortex, as additional upward wave activity flux over Siberia makes up the difference. While comparable warming of the polar stratosphere is found when the positive AMV is included with the positive IPV, the downward propagation of the stratospheric response is significantly reduced, which has implications for the associated surface temperature extremes. The robust anticorrelation between the positive IPV and positive AMV signals over the North Pacific and their lack of additivity highlight the need to consider the IPV–AMV interplay for anticipating decadal changes in mean climate and extreme events in the Northern Hemisphere.