Teleconnections and Sea Ice Variability in the Greenland Sea.
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to examine and test the hypothesis that the multiyear sea ice variability in the East Greenland Current is related to the El Nino/Southern Oscillation phenomenon and/or the North Atlantic Oscillation via atmospheric teleconnections. 'Teleconnection' is defined here, after Wallace and Gutzler (1981), as significant simultaneous correlations between temporal fluctuations in oceanic and atmospheric parameters at widely separated points on the earth. The teleconnections included in this test are the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) and the North Atlantic Oscillation Index (NAO). Anomalous monthly time series for the sea ice extent, SOI, and the NAO are examined for the 25-year period of 1953-1977. The results show that the sea ice anomaly is negatively correlated with the SOI anomaly when the sea ice lags the SOI 24 to 29 months. Cross correlations of the data sets by season failed to reveal any significant seasonal dependence. Keywords: El Nino; Air sea interactions.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1986
- Accession Number
- ADA173550
Entities
People
- Ward A. Wilson Iii
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School