Teleconnections in the Southern Hemisphere

Abstract

Abstract Teleconnections are calculated from monthly mean anomalies of sea level pressure and 500 mb geopotential height for the Southern Hemisphere (10–90°S) for five-month winter and summer seasons. The monthly means were calculated from Australian analyses for the period from June 1972 to November 1980. Zonally averaged anomalies at both sea level and 500 mb display an out-of-phase relation between low and high latitudes and in midlatitudes are negatively correlated with anomalies in the subtropics and polar regions. In winter a striking zonal wavenumber 3 pattern is found over the Southern Ocean. Anomalies in 500 mb geopotential heights at (50°S, 95°E), (58°S, 150°W) and (38°S, 15°W) exhibit strong positive correlations while showing weaker negative correlations with heights over Antarctica and in low latitudes. A similar pattern appears in sea level pressure. In summer anomalies in 500 mb geopotential height over the three subtropical continents appear to occur out of phase with anomalies over the su...