The Southern Oscillation in Surface Circulation and Climate over the Tropical Atlantic, Eastern Pacific, and Indian Oceans as Captured by Cluster Analysis
Clusters of sea level pressure (SLP), surface wind, cloudiness, and sea surface temperature (SST) in the domain of the tropical Atlantic, eastern Pacific, and Indian Oceans are introduced and discussed in terms of general circulation and climate. They appear to capture well the large-scale degrees of freedom of the seasonal fields. In the Atlantic and, to a lesser extent, in the eastern Pacific, most analyzed fields group into zonally oriented “trade wind” clusters. These are separated distinctly by the near-equatorial trough axis. By contrast the Indian Ocean features strong interhemispheric connections associated with the monsoon systems of boreal summer and, to a lesser degree, of boreal winter. The usefulness of clusters thus established is elucidated with respect to the Southern Oscilation (SO). General circulation changes associated with this planetary pressure seesaw are deduced from correlation maps of surface field clusters for January/February and July/August. During the positive SO pha... Abstract Clusters of sea level pressure (SLP), surface wind, cloudiness, and sea surface temperature (SST) in the domain of the tropical Atlantic, eastern Pacific, and Indian Oceans are introduced and discussed in terms of general circulation and climate. They appear to capture well the large-scale degrees of freedom of the seasonal fields. In the Atlantic and, to a lesser extent, in the eastern Pacific, most analyzed fields group into zonally oriented “trade wind” clusters. These are separated distinctly by the near-equatorial trough axis. By contrast the Indian Ocean features strong interhemispheric connections associated with the monsoon systems of boreal summer and, to a lesser degree, of boreal winter. The usefulness of clusters thus established is elucidated with respect to the Southern Oscilation (SO). General circulation changes associated with this planetary pressure seesaw are deduced from correlation maps of surface field clusters for January/February and July/August. During the positive SO pha...