Interannual variations in atmospheric mass over liquid water oceans, continents, and sea‐ice‐covered arctic regions and their possible impacts on the boreal winter climate

Abstract

AbstractUsing reanalysis data from National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research, ERA‐interim, and Hadley Centre Sea Ice and Sea Surface Temperature for the period of 1979–2012, the variations in atmospheric mass (AM) over liquid water oceans, continents, and sea‐ice‐covered Arctic regions during boreal winter are investigated. It is found that AM may migrate in a compensatory manner among these three types of surfaces on interannual time scales. There are two pairs of strong antiphase relations. One lies in a zonal orientation between the Eurasian continent and the midlatitude Pacific (referred to as Eurasian continent/Pacific antiphase relation) and exhibits a teleconnection pattern characterized by two strong correlation centers, one over Eurasia and one over the North Pacific. The other antiphase AM relation, referred to as ocean/ice‐covered Arctic antiphase relation (OIAR), exhibits a meridional orientation between the ice‐covered Arctic and liquid water oceans, including the Atlantic and Pacific. In the context of the OIAR, two teleconnection patterns are observed. One features three strong correlation centers, one each over the Mediterranean, Arctic, and North Pacific, and corresponds to AM fluctuations over liquid water oceans. The other is characterized by three strong correlation centers over the Mediterranean, the Arctic, and East Asia, and corresponds to AM fluctuations over the ice‐covered Arctic. These teleconnections are the results of thermal contrasts among the three types of surfaces. Rossby waves and vertical circulations play important roles in the formation of these teleconnections. Interestingly, these teleconnections may have significant and widespread influences on the winter climate in the Northern Hemisphere, especially in regions near the Mediterranean, the northern Eurasia, parts of North America, and East Asia.