Can the CCM3 Global Climate Model Accurately Simulate the Arctic Oscillation?
Raymond Mooring, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA The Arctic Oscillation (AO) is the leading mode of mean sea level pressure from 20 N poleward. This robust phenomenon is annular in nature and manifests itself on many different time scales ranging from multi-decadal to interannual. After filtering simulated sea-level pressure and surface temperature datasets, and an observed AO index, spectral analysis indicates that the first PCA of the pressure time series correlates with the AO index. The second PCA of surface temperature also correlates with the AO index at several frequencies. This study determines that the low frequency (defined as signals with 8-month periods or longer) AO signal can be accurately simulated in the CCM3 fields of sea level pressure and surface temperature.
