The Global 3-Dimensional Structure of Climate Associated with the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation
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Date
2010-05
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Abstract
The Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) is a dominant driver of climate on multidecadal timescales characterized by alternating cool and warm phases that disguise and enhance the effects of global warming respectively. Despite this, some climate models remain unable to generate a realistic AMO-like signal, prompting the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to target the AMO as a research priority that will make significant contributions to the upcoming Fifth Assessment Report. This study uses a global climate reanalysis database covering 60 years (one full AMO cycle) to regress a number of climate variables (e.g., temperature, precipitation, pressure and winds at various altitudes) onto an AMO index in order to reconstruct the climate effects of the AMO. The goals of this study are to advance a better understanding of the AMO and its effects on climate, reveal global teleconnection patterns and provide a high-quality reconstruction of AMO-related climate that can be used as a benchmark for the improvement of climate models via ‘hindcasting’. Improved climate forecasts in turn have significant implications (e.g., extension of drought and monsoon forecasts beyond the current seasonal timescales) and provide opportunities for more informed societal decision-making (e.g., better long-term water management strategies and more appropriate agricultural planning in affected areas).
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Poster Division 2: Science and Technology: 2nd Place (The Ohio State University Edward F. Hayes Graduate Research Forum)
Keywords
Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, thermohaline circulation, climate variability, UN IPCC, anthropogenic global warming