A Pacific Interdecadal Climate Oscillation with Impacts on Salmon Production

1997/06/01 by Nathan J. Mantua, Steven R. Hare, Yuan Zhang +2 · 7,180 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · #Atmosphere (unit) #Climate change #Climate system #Climate variability and models #Climatology #Environmental science #Geography #Geology #Marine and fisheries research #Meteorology #Middle latitudes #Oceanographic and Atmospheric Processes #Oceanography #Pacific basin #Pacific decadal oscillation #Sea surface temperature

paper · pdf · doi:10.1175/1520-0477(1997)078<1069:apicow>2.0.co;2

published in Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 78(6), 1069-1079 (American Meteorological Society)

openalex publication_date 1997/06/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/02

Abstract

Evidence gleaned from the instrumental record of climate data identifies a robust, recurring pattern of ocean–atmosphere climate variability centered over the midlatitude North Pacific basin. Over the past century, the amplitude of this climate pattern has varied irregularly at interannual-to-interdecadal timescales. There is evidence of reversals in the prevailing polarity of the oscillation occurring around 1925, 1947, and 1977; the last two reversals correspond to dramatic shifts in salmon production regimes in the North Pacific Ocean. This climate pattern also affects coastal sea and continental surface air temperatures, as well as streamflow in major west coast river systems, from Alaska to California.

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