The relationship between Indian summer monsoon rainfall and Atlantic multidecadal variability over the last 500 years

Syam Sankar; Lea Svendsen; Bindu Gokulapalan; Porathur Vareed Joseph; Ola M. Johannessen

doi:10.3402/tellusa.v68.31717

The relationship between Indian summer monsoon rainfall and Atlantic multidecadal variability over the last 500 years

Tellus

Volume 68 (2016): Issue 1

By: Syam Sankar, Lea Svendsen, Bindu Gokulapalan, Porathur Vareed Joseph and Ola M. Johannessen

Open Access

|Dec 2016

Abstract

Several studies have shown a statistically significant correlation between Atlantic multidecadal variability (AMV) and Indian summer monsoon rainfall (ISMR) since 1871 when instrumental data are available. In the instrumental records, both ISMR and North Atlantic sea surface temperatures (SSTs) have multidecadal variability with a period close to 60 yr, where periods of warm (cold) North Atlantic SSTs are accompanied by periods of wetter (dryer) ISMR and lower (higher) frequencies of dry years. We have studied both AMV and ISMR for the period from 1481 to present using several proxy reconstructions from both regions, as well as an extended instrumental data set for ISMR, to investigate multidecadal variability in the ISMR and the teleconnection to AMV. Previous studies investigating the relationship between AMV and ISMR in instrumental data have only used the period from 1871 onwards, whereas rain gauge data from the year 1844 are studied here, extending the instrumental record by 26 yr. We find that the observed link between AMV and ISMR is present in the extended instrumental data. We also find that multidecadal variability is present in the ISMR in all proxy records; however, all the proxy records for both ISMR and AMV diverge before the 1800s. In addition, the observed correlation between AMV and ISMR has weakened in the last decade. These results emphasise that it is not appropriate to use single proxy reconstructions to study past climates.

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Articles in this issue

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3402/tellusa.v68.31717 | Journal eISSN: 3035-9554

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Language: English

Page range: 31717 - 31717

Submitted on: Mar 24, 2016

Accepted on: Oct 21, 2016

Published on: Dec 1, 2016

Published by: Stockholm University Press

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

Keywords:

Atlantic multidecadal variability,

Indian summer monsoon,

proxy reconstructions,

teleconnection,

multidecadal variability,

correlation analysis

© 2016 Syam Sankar, Lea Svendsen, Bindu Gokulapalan, Porathur Vareed Joseph, Ola M. Johannessen, published by Stockholm University Press
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Volume 68 (2016): Issue 1