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The Long-Term Course of the Annual Total Sunshine Duration in Europe and Changes in the Phases of the Thermohaline Circulation in the North Atlantic (1901–2018) Cover

The Long-Term Course of the Annual Total Sunshine Duration in Europe and Changes in the Phases of the Thermohaline Circulation in the North Atlantic (1901–2018)

Quaestiones Geographicae
Volume 42 (2023): Issue 2 (June 2023)
By: Andrzej A. Marsz,  Anna Styszyńska and  Dorota Matuszko  
Open Access
|Jun 2023

Figures & Tables

Fig. 1.

Course of the DG3L index in the years 1901–2018. Marked boundaries of negative and positive North Atlantic Thermohaline Circulation phases.
Course of the DG3L index in the years 1901–2018. Marked boundaries of negative and positive North Atlantic Thermohaline Circulation phases.

Fig. 2.

Time series of SD13S and the factor values of the first PC of this set (eigenvector PC1). PC, principal components; SD, sunshine duration.
Time series of SD13S and the factor values of the first PC of this set (eigenvector PC1). PC, principal components; SD, sunshine duration.

Fig. 3.

Relationship between the DG3L index and SD13S, 1901–2018. SD, sunshine duration.
Relationship between the DG3L index and SD13S, 1901–2018. SD, sunshine duration.

Fig. 4.

Cross-correlations between the DG3L index (antecedent variable) and sunshine duration SD13S (delayed variable). Graded curves – the range of ± standard errors SE that sets the limits of statistical significance p = 0.05 of a correlation. Correlated series 1901–2018.
Cross-correlations between the DG3L index (antecedent variable) and sunshine duration SD13S (delayed variable). Graded curves – the range of ± standard errors SE that sets the limits of statistical significance p = 0.05 of a correlation. Correlated series 1901–2018.

Fig. 5.

Distribution of asynchronous correlation coefficients between the annual sea surface temperature SST (1900–2017) in the North Atlantic and sunshine duration SD13S in the years 1901–2018. Dark pink colour denotes correlations that are highly statistically significant (p <0.001) and light pink colour denotes correlations that are statistically significant (p <0.05).
Distribution of asynchronous correlation coefficients between the annual sea surface temperature SST (1900–2017) in the North Atlantic and sunshine duration SD13S in the years 1901–2018. Dark pink colour denotes correlations that are highly statistically significant (p <0.001) and light pink colour denotes correlations that are statistically significant (p <0.05).

Fig. 6.

Distribution of synchronous correlation coefficients between the annual sea surface temperature SST (1901–2018) in the North Atlantic and sunshine duration SD13S in the years 1901–2018. Designations as in Figure 5.
Distribution of synchronous correlation coefficients between the annual sea surface temperature SST (1901–2018) in the North Atlantic and sunshine duration SD13S in the years 1901–2018. Designations as in Figure 5.

Fig. 7.

Course of the average annual SST (SSTST) from grids [40°N, 50°W] and [40°N, 60°W] and SD13S. Bold solid lines – fitting with a 5th-degree polynomial to empirical courses. SD, sunshine duration; SST, sea surface temperature.
Course of the average annual SST (SSTST) from grids [40°N, 50°W] and [40°N, 60°W] and SD13S. Bold solid lines – fitting with a 5th-degree polynomial to empirical courses. SD, sunshine duration; SST, sea surface temperature.

Fig. 8.

Linear correlation coefficients (r) between SD13S and the meridional SST gradient in the North Atlantic between 30 and 60°N to 40°W (average ϕ = 45°N; dSST[40W]) and the geopotential height at h500 at 45°, 50° and 55°N. Significance levels of correlation (p) are marked. Period of analysis 1949–2018. SD, sunshine duration; SST, sea surface temperature.
Linear correlation coefficients (r) between SD13S and the meridional SST gradient in the North Atlantic between 30 and 60°N to 40°W (average ϕ = 45°N; dSST[40W]) and the geopotential height at h500 at 45°, 50° and 55°N. Significance levels of correlation (p) are marked. Period of analysis 1949–2018. SD, sunshine duration; SST, sea surface temperature.

Fig. 9.

Distribution of the values of the correlation coefficients between the height of the geopotential 500 hPa at 50°N (from 10°W to 60° E) and the DG3L index and the annual mean SST at 40°N, 60–50°W (variable SSTST). Significance levels (p = 0.001 and p = 0.05) are marked. SST, sea surface temperature.
Distribution of the values of the correlation coefficients between the height of the geopotential 500 hPa at 50°N (from 10°W to 60° E) and the DG3L index and the annual mean SST at 40°N, 60–50°W (variable SSTST). Significance levels (p = 0.001 and p = 0.05) are marked. SST, sea surface temperature.

Average values of the annual area sunshine duration over Europe (SD13S) and the ranges of their variability in the subsequent North Atlantic Thermohaline Circulation phases_

North Atlantic Thermohaline Circulation phaseYearsDuration (years)SD13S (h)
AverageMinMaxMedian
11901–1926261,681.71,497.02,050.21,661.2
21927–1963371,730.11,514.21,921.71,718.1
31964–1988251,575.71,415.91,735.21,582.9
41989–2018311,770.01,597.12,032.31,759.0

Stations used in the study_

No.StationCountryGeographical coordinatesAltitude (m a.s.l.)Number of supplementations of annual mean valuesData source
  1ArmaghGB54.35°N, 6.65°W  620Met Office
  2De BiltNL52.10°N, 5.18°E    11 (1945)ECAD
  3GenevaCH46.20°N, 6.15°E4050ECAD
  4BaselCH47.53°N, 7.58°E3160HISTALP
  5ZurichCH47.38°N, 8.57°E5550ECAD
  6CopenhagenDK56.68°N, 12.53°E    90DMI
  7PotsdamDE52.38°N, 13.06°E  811 (1945)DWD
  8KremsmunsterAT48.06°N, 14.13°E3820HISTALP
  9KlagenfurtAT46.65°N, 14.32°E4590HISTALP
10ZagrebHR45.82°N, 15.97°E1571 (1921)HISTALP
11ViennaAT48.25°N, 16.36°E2090HISTALP
12WroclawPL51.10°N, 16.90°E1200Brys (2013), Marsz et al. (2021)
13KrakowPL50.07°N, 19.97°E2060IGiGP UJ

Characteristics of the DG3L index in the North Atlantic Thermohaline Circulation phases occurring in the years 1901–2018_

North Atlantic Thermohaline Circulation PhasesYearsDuration (years)DG3L index
AverageMinMaxSTD
11901–192626−0.846−1.921  0.6820.605
21927–196337  0.844−0.116  1.8790.563
31964–198825−0.782−1.836−0.0730.472
41989–201831  1.851  0.299  4.8361.226
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14746/quageo-2023-0023 | Journal eISSN: 2081-6383 | Journal ISSN: 2082-2103
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Language: English
Page range: 49 - 65
Submitted on: Oct 30, 2022
|
Published on: Jun 27, 2023
Published by: Adam Mickiewicz University
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: 4 issues per year
Keywords:
sunshine duration,
North Atlantic thermohaline circulation,
mid-tropospheric circulation,
brightening,
dimming,
Europe
Related subjects:
Geosciences,
Geography

© 2023 Andrzej A. Marsz, Anna Styszyńska, Dorota Matuszko, published by Adam Mickiewicz University
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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