Decadal Trends in the North Atlantic Oscillation: Regional Temperatures and Precipitation

1995/08/04 by James W. Hurrell · 20 citations
Environmental Science · Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Climate variability and models #Meteorological Phenomena and Simulations #Cryospheric studies and observations

paper · doi:10.1126/science.269.5224.676

openalex publication_date 1995/08/04 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01

Abstract

Greenland ice-core data have revealed large decadal climate variations over the North Atlantic that can be related to a major source of low-frequency variability, the North Atlantic Oscillation. Over the past decade, the Oscillation has remained in one extreme phase during the winters, contributing significantly to the recent wintertime warmth across Europe and to cold conditions in the northwest Atlantic. An evaluation of the atmospheric moisture budget reveals coherent large-scale changes since 1980 that are linked to recent dry conditions over southern Europe and the Mediterranean, whereas northern Europe and parts of Scandinavia have generally experienced wetter than normal conditions.

Citations

• Classification, Seasonality and Persistence of Low-Frequency Atmospheric Circulation Patterns

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