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GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 31, L24206, doi:10.1029/2004GL021473, 2004

Sea-surface temperature induced variability of the Southern Annular Mode in an atmospheric general circulation model

Tianjun Zhou

State Key Laboratory of Numerical Modeling for Atmospheric Sciences and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China


Rucong Yu

State Key Laboratory of Numerical Modeling for Atmospheric Sciences and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China


Abstract

The reproducibility of the Southern Hemisphere Annular Mode (SAM) is examined by using the NCAR CAM2 model forced with historical sea surface temperature covering the time period of 1950–2000. There is some correspondence (low however significant correlation) between the simulation and observation in the temporal evolution of the SAM, indicating if global SSTs are known and prescribed to the model, there would be some predictability to the SAM. The reproducibility is greater during austral summer than winter, and the source of much of the reproducibility is tropical Pacific SST, with equatorial Pacific warm event corresponds to a negative phase SAM in austral summer. There is a hint that this result is model independent. Working with ensembles improves the reproducibility.

Received 13 September 2004; accepted 19 November 2004; published 22 December 2004.

Index Terms: 1620 Global Change: Climate dynamics (3309); 1610 Global Change: Atmosphere (0315, 0325); 3319 Meteorology and Atmospheric Dynamics: General circulation; 3339 Meteorology and Atmospheric Dynamics: Ocean/atmosphere interactions (0312, 4504); 3334 Meteorology and Atmospheric Dynamics: Middle atmosphere dynamics (0341, 0342).

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Citation: Zhou, T., and R. Yu (2004), Sea-surface temperature induced variability of the Southern Annular Mode in an atmospheric general circulation model, Geophys. Res. Lett., 31, L24206, doi:10.1029/2004GL021473.