A New North Atlantic Oscillation Index and Its Variability

A new North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index, the NAOI, is defined as the differences of normalizedsea level pressures regionally zonal-averaged over a broad range of longitudes 80°W-30°E. A comprehensivecomparison of six NAO indices indicates that the new NAOI provides a more faithful representation ofthe spatial-temporal variability associated with the NAO on all timescales. A very high signal-to-noiseratio for the NAOI exists for all seasons, and the life cycle represented by the NAOI describes well theseasonal migration for action centers of the NAO. The NAOI captures a larger fraction of the variance ofsea level pressure over the North Atlantic sector (20°-90°N, 80°W-30°E), on average 10% more than anyother NAO index. There are quite different relationships between the NAOI and surface air temperatureduring winter and summer. A novel feature, however, is that the NAOI is significantly negative correlatedwith surface air temperature over the North Atlantic Ocean between 10°-25°N and 70°-30°W, whetherin winter or summer. From 1873, the NAOI exhibits strong interannual and decadal variability. Itsinterannual variability of the twelve calendar months is obviously phase-locked with the seasonal cycle.Moreover, the annual NAOI exhibits a clearer decadal variability in amplitude than the winter NAOI. Anupward trend is found in the annual NAOI between the 1870s and 1910s, while the other winter NAOindices fail to show this tendency. The annual NAOI exhibits a strongly positive epoch of 50 years between1896 and 1950. After 1950, the variability of the annual NAOI is very similar to that of the winter NAOindices.