Enhanced signature of solar variability in Eurasian winter climate

Woollings, T., Lockwood, M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7397-2172, Masato, G., Bell, C. and Gray, L. (2010) Enhanced signature of solar variability in Eurasian winter climate. Geophysical Research Letters, 37. L20805. ISSN 0094-8276 doi: 10.1029/2010GL044601

Abstract/Summary

We demonstrate that a new geomagnetic index of solar variability exhibits stronger correlations with atmospheric circulation variations than conventional measures. The circulation anomalies are particularly enhanced over the North Atlantic / Eurasian sector, where there are large changes in the occurrence of blocking and the winter mean surface temperature differs by several degrees between high- and low-solar terciles. The relationship is also simpler, being largely linear between high- and low-solar winters. While the circulation anomalies strongly resemble the North Atlantic Oscillation they also extend deeper into Eurasia, in a distinct signature which may be useful for the detection and attribution of observed changes and also the identification of dynamical mechanisms.