Editorial Type:
Article
Article Type:
Research Article

The Summer North Atlantic Oscillation Influence on the Eastern Mediterranean

Themis Chronis Institute of Oceanography, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Anavissos, Attica, Greece

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Dionysios E. Raitsos Institute of Oceanography, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Anavissos, Attica, Greece

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Dimitris Kassis Institute of Oceanography, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Anavissos, Attica, Greece

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Athanassios Sarantopoulos Hellenic National Meteorological Service, Athens, Greece

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Print Publication:
01 Nov 2011
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/2011JCLI3839.1
Page(s):
5584–5596
Restricted access

Abstract

This study highlights an important and previously overlooked summer North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) influence over the eastern Mediterranean. The featured analysis is based on a synergistic use of reanalysis data, satellite retrievals, and coastal and buoy meteorological observations. The physical mechanisms at play reveal a strong summer NAO involvement on the pressure fields over northern Europe and the Anatolian plateau. Especially during August, the summer NAO modulates the Anatolian low, together with the air temperature, meridional atmospheric circulation, and cloudiness over the eastern Mediterranean. Including the dominant action centers over Greenland and the Arctic, the identified modulations rank among the strongest summer NAO-related signals over the entire Northern Hemisphere.

Corresponding author address: T. Chronis, Institute of Oceanography, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR), 46.7 Km Athens-Sounio, P.O. Box 712, 190 13, Anavissos, Attica, Greece. E-mail: themis@ath.hcmr.gr

Abstract

This study highlights an important and previously overlooked summer North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) influence over the eastern Mediterranean. The featured analysis is based on a synergistic use of reanalysis data, satellite retrievals, and coastal and buoy meteorological observations. The physical mechanisms at play reveal a strong summer NAO involvement on the pressure fields over northern Europe and the Anatolian plateau. Especially during August, the summer NAO modulates the Anatolian low, together with the air temperature, meridional atmospheric circulation, and cloudiness over the eastern Mediterranean. Including the dominant action centers over Greenland and the Arctic, the identified modulations rank among the strongest summer NAO-related signals over the entire Northern Hemisphere.

Corresponding author address: T. Chronis, Institute of Oceanography, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR), 46.7 Km Athens-Sounio, P.O. Box 712, 190 13, Anavissos, Attica, Greece. E-mail: themis@ath.hcmr.gr
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