Nathalie F. Goodkin, Konrad A. Hughen, Scott C. Doney, William B. Curry

Nature Geoscience

Published date November 8, 2008

Access : Increased multidecadal variability of the North Atlantic Oscillation since 1781

  • States the North Atlantic Oscillation is a meridional oscillation of atmospheric mass measured between Iceland and the Açores, which drives winter climate variability in eastern North America and Europe 
  • Presents a record of Sr/Ca, a sea surface temperature proxy, from a Bermuda coral from 1781 to 1999
  • Uses this monthly resolved record to reconstruct past variability of the North Atlantic Oscillation at multiple frequencies
  • Uses the record to show enhanced multidecadal scale variability during the late twentieth century compared with the end of the Little Ice Age (1800–1850)
  • Research suggests that variability within the North Atlantic Oscillation is linked to the mean temperature of the Northern Hemisphere, which must be considered in any long-term predictions