C
LIMATE
R
ESEARCH IN THE
D
EPARTMENT OF
P
HYSICS
J. Ciarlo`, M
ALTA
C
LIMATE
T
EAM
14-19 th March 2011

How Oscillation Patterns effect one another
How Oscillation Patterns effect aerosol transport
Oscillation Patterns in RegCM4

 Teleconnections & Oscillation Patterns
 Aerosols & Transportation
 Patterns, Indices & the Domain
 Measured Data
 Teleconnection Analysis
 From Measured Data
 RegCM4
 Aerosol Transport
 Conclusions
3

Teleconnections & Oscillation
Patterns


Teleconnection:
 Two or more distant points of air pressure – “nodes”


Icelandic Low – 3600 km – Azores High
Strong Negative Relationship
Oscillation Pattern:
 The teleconnection as a whole, varies almost in an oscillating manner.
 The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO)
4




Aerosols:
 Solid and Liquid particles suspended in air.
Transportation:
 Movement of particles through air motion.
Air Movement:
Cold Air
High Pressure
Centre
Hot Air
Low Pressure
Centre
5

6

Indices quantify the state of a Pattern
 Difference in pressure at sea level (or geopotential height at pressure level).
 The difference is standardized with long term monthly means.
 Result: Index value varying from +3 to -3.
7

The influence of Oscillation Patterns
 Example: The North Atlantic Oscillation
NAO- NAO+
8


Sea Level Pressure
Higher Altitude Pressure
Used to extract pressure values for the nodes to construct
Oscillation Indices.
 u-wind – wind component in the west to east direction. v-wind – wind component in the south to north direction.
Necessary for studying wind vectors & understanding wind motion.
9

Teleconnection Analysis: From
Measured Data
 Influence of Oscillation Patterns on Wind activity
 North Atlantic Oscillation (Walker & Bliss, 1935)
10

Teleconnection Analysis: From
Measured Data
 Influence of Oscillation Patterns on Wind activity
 Central African-Caspian Oscillation (Kutiel & Helfman, 2004)
11

2
1
0
-1
4
3
-2
-3
-4
Teleconnection Analysis: RegCM4
North Atlantic Oscillation Index (Walker & Bliss, 1935)
North Atlantic Oscillation Index (Walker & Bliss, 1935)
 Correlation: 0.87
3 3
2
2
1
1
RegCM4 NCEP
0
-1
-2
-3
-1
-2
-3
12

4
3
4
2
3
1
2
0
1
0
-1
-1
-2
-2
-3
-3
-4 -4
Teleconnection Analysis: RegCM4
North Atlantic Oscillation Index (Walker & Bliss, 1935)
RegCM4 NCEP
3
2
Central African-Caspian Oscillation (Kutiel & Helfmann, 2004)
RegCM4 NCEP 1
RegCM4 NCEP
-1
-2
-3
 Correlation: 0.39
13

Teleconnection Analysis: Aerosol
Transport
 Considering dust (smaller than 0.1 μm)
 Understanding the regions of highest occurrence
14

15

16

E: jcia0004@um.edu.mt
17