On non-linearities in a forced North Atlantic Oscillation

Large ensembles of simulations (ensemble size of 500 members) are performed using a simplified atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) in order to investigate the non-linearities in the response to composite sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly forcings that are constant in time. The SST composite corresponds to the observed anomaly associated with the atmospheric North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). The integration length is 90 days for each ensemble (covering January, February and March). A non-linearity is found in the mean response to the SST-forcing, with the negative SST-NAO forcing leading to a stronger and more clear atmospheric NAO response. These non-linearities appear to be due to asymmetries in the heating anomalies induced by the SST-forcing and asymmetries in the transient eddy vorticity forcing. Further non-linearities are due to initial period dependences of the response to the same SST-forcing. As a consequence, a pre-existing negative atmospheric NAO is much more persistent due to SST-feedback than a positive NAO.