Winter mean temperature variability in Turkey associated with the North Atlantic Oscillation

Abstract

Changes and variability in seasonal average mean and monthly mean winter (DJF) air temperature series at 70 stations of Turkey and the circulation types at 500-hPa geopotential height level were investigated to explain atmospheric controls of temperature variations during the extreme (weak and strong) phases and normal (negative and positive) phases of the North Atlantic Oscillation (i.e., Ponta Delgada–Reykjavik and the Gibraltar–Reykjavik) indices. During the positive phases of the North Atlantic Oscillation indices (NAOIs), northeasterly circulation increased, and thus spatially coherent and significant cold signals dominate over the majority of Turkey. This pattern is closely linked to anomalously low 500-hPa heights over the region of the Icelandic Low, and anomalously high geopotential heights over the regions of the Azores High, the western Mediterranean basin and the Europe, in general including the Balkans and northwest Turkey. Contrarily, during the negative phases of the NAOIs, prevailing westerly winds that originate from the subtropical northeast Atlantic increase, and thus spatially coherent and significant warm signals over the Anatolian peninsula appear. This pattern is closely linked to the increased cyclonic activity and associated increased westerly and southwesterly circulation causing warm maritime air advection over the Mediterranean basin toward Turkey.