Pacific and Atlantic sea surface temperature influences on streamflow in the Apalachicola–Chattahoochee–Flint river basin

Abstract

• The coupled impacts of ENSO, AMO and PDO were greater and had a wider impact than the individual impacts. • The AMO modulates the impact of La Niña in the ACF basin. • Differences in streamflow by phase of the AMO were largest during the negative phase of the PDO. Large scale climate phenomena can provide valuable information for regional climate and streamflow in many parts of the world. Several climate phenomena may impact a given area and their value for providing information on streamflow is dependent on first establishing the local relationship. This study was conducted to establish the individual and coupled impacts of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), and Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) on streamflow in the Apalachicola–Chattahoochee–Flint (ACF) river basin. Differences in annual and seasonal streamflow using two unimpaired streamflow datasets based on the phase(s) of ENSO, the PDO, and the AMO were evaluated using the nonparametric rank-sum test. Few statistical differences were found for the individual impacts of ENSO and the PDO on annual and seasonal streamflow; differences based on ENSO were largely confined to the southern portion of the basin. Significant differences in annual streamflow based on the AMO were largely confined to the northern half of the basin. Differences in seasonal streamflow based on the AMO were found for much of the year in the northern portion of the basin but were confined to the winter season in the southern portion. Significant differences in annual and seasonal streamflow were found between the La Niña/positive AMO phase and the El Niño/negative AMO phase, between the positive AMO/negative PDO phase and the negative AMO/negative PDO phase, and there appears to be a modulation of the impacts of La Niña by the phase of the AMO. A greater number of stations and a greater magnitude of significant differences were found for the coupled impacts than for the individual impacts of ENSO, the PDO, and the AMO; indicating the importance of the coupled impacts on regional streamflow when establishing the role of annual, decadal, and multidecadal climate variability.