How does North Atlantic Oscillation work?

How does North Atlantic Oscillation work?

The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is a weather phenomenon over the North Atlantic Ocean of fluctuations in the difference of atmospheric pressure at sea level (SLP) between the Icelandic Low and the Azores High. The NAO was discovered through several studies in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

What is NAO region?

North Atlantic Oscillation. The NAO is the dominant mode of winter climate variability in the North Atlantic region ranging from central North America to Europe and much into Northern Asia. The NAO is a large scale seesaw in atmospheric mass between the subtropical high and the polar low.

Where is the North Atlantic Oscillation?

North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), an irregular fluctuation of atmospheric pressure over the North Atlantic Ocean that has a strong effect on winter weather in Europe, Greenland, northeastern North America, North Africa, and northern Asia.

Why is the North Atlantic so stormy?

A giant see-saw across the North Atlantic Acting like a giant seesaw, the NAO leads to changes in the intensity and location of the North Atlantic jet stream – ribbons of very fast winds high in the atmosphere that influence the movement of regions of low pressure (depressions) and their associated storms.

What drives the North Atlantic Current?

Driven by the global thermohaline circulation, the North Atlantic Current is part of the wind-driven Gulf Stream, which goes further east and north from the North American coast across the Atlantic and into the Arctic Ocean.

How is the NAO index of North Atlantic Oscillation calculated?

The NAO index is obtained by projecting the NAO loading pattern to the daily anomaly 500 millibar height field over 0-90°N. The NAO loading pattern has been chosen as the first mode of a Rotated Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) analysis using monthly mean 500 millibar height anomaly data from 1950 to 2000 over 0-90°N latitude.

When did the North Atlantic Oscillation start and end?

Historical Index: Monthly tabulated NAO index dating back to 1950. Indices are standardized by the 1981-2010 climatology. One of the most prominent teleconnection patterns in all seasons is the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) (Barnston and Livezey 1987).

Where can I find the Hurrell North Atlantic Oscillation Index?

Contact Adam Phillips (asphilli (AT) ucar.edu) and/or Jim Hurrell (jhurrell (AT) ucar.edu). Winter index of the NAO based on the difference of normalized sea level pressures (SLP) between Lisbon, Portugal and Stykkisholmur/Reykjavik, Iceland since 1864.

How long does the Atlantic Multi decadal oscillation last?

Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation (AMO) The Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation (AMO) has been identified as a coherent mode of natural variability occurring in the North Atlantic Ocean with an estimated period of 60-80 years.

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