Editorial Type:
Article
Article Type:
Research Article

Interannual to Multidecadal Timescale Climate Variations in the Northeast Pacific

Daniel M. Ware Pacific Biological Station, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada

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Richard E. Thomson Institute of Ocean Sciences, Sidney, British Columbia, Canada

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Print Publication:
15 Sep 2000
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0442(2000)013<3209:ITMTCV>2.0.CO;2
Page(s):
3209–3220
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Abstract

Analysis of five, long-term coastal air temperature records, reconstructed from tree ring growth patterns, indicate that the climate of the northeast Pacific Ocean has oscillated at three dominant timescales over the last 400 years: the well-known 2–8-yr El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) timescale, a 20–40-yr interdecadal timescale, and a 60–80-yr multidecadal timescale. The latter oscillation has been the dominant mode of air temperature variability along the west coast of North America over the last 400 years. During this period, there have been conspicuous temporal modulations of the ENSO and the interdecadal signals. Low-frequency temperature oscillations at periods greater than 10 years in the northeast Pacific have been significantly coherent and in-phase from southern California to British Columbia. However, with the exception of the ENSO signal, higher-frequency variability has been weakly coherent along the west coast. Recent work suggests that the interdecadal oscillation is a worldwide phenomenon that relies on global-scale air–sea interactions to explain its existence. Superimposed on this global pattern are basin-scale interactions that force regional variability in ocean climate.

Corresponding author address: Daniel Ware, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Pacific Biological Station, Nanaimo, BC V9R 5K6 Canada.

Abstract

Analysis of five, long-term coastal air temperature records, reconstructed from tree ring growth patterns, indicate that the climate of the northeast Pacific Ocean has oscillated at three dominant timescales over the last 400 years: the well-known 2–8-yr El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) timescale, a 20–40-yr interdecadal timescale, and a 60–80-yr multidecadal timescale. The latter oscillation has been the dominant mode of air temperature variability along the west coast of North America over the last 400 years. During this period, there have been conspicuous temporal modulations of the ENSO and the interdecadal signals. Low-frequency temperature oscillations at periods greater than 10 years in the northeast Pacific have been significantly coherent and in-phase from southern California to British Columbia. However, with the exception of the ENSO signal, higher-frequency variability has been weakly coherent along the west coast. Recent work suggests that the interdecadal oscillation is a worldwide phenomenon that relies on global-scale air–sea interactions to explain its existence. Superimposed on this global pattern are basin-scale interactions that force regional variability in ocean climate.

Corresponding author address: Daniel Ware, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Pacific Biological Station, Nanaimo, BC V9R 5K6 Canada.

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