Lau, N-C., 1981: A diagnostic study of recurrent meteorological anomalies appearing in a 15-year simulation with a GFDL general circulation model. Monthly Weather Review, 109 (11), 2287-2311.
Abstract: The spatial structure and temporal characteristics of prominent anomalies
occurring in a 15-year simulation with a GFDL spectral general circulation
model are examined using empirical orthogonal functions, teleconnection
patterns, composite charts, lagged correlation fuctions and frequency spectra.
Despite the absence of any nonseasonal perturbation in the prescribed forcing
such as sea surface temperature, insolation and cloud cover, the simulated
circulation exhibits an appreciable degree of temporal variability on monthly
time scales. The standing oscillation in the Northern Hemisphere winter
which accounts for the largest fraction of this variance has a coherent
three-dimensional structure. In the middle and upper troposphere, this preferred
mode of oscillation is characterized by a wavelike pattern with multiple
centers of action. The corresponding anomaly pattern at the sea level is
dominated by north-south pressure seesaws over the North Atlantic and North
Pacific. The flow patterns associated with these pressure anomalies are
consistent with the prinicipal temperature anomaly pattern in the lower
troposphere. The large-scale features of the above anomaly patterns are
similar to those associated with the most prevalent standing oscillation
observed in the atmosphere. The synoptic behavior and hydrological processes
in the model atmosphere during the outstanding anomalous episodes are internally
consistent.
The spatial structure of the prinicipal mode in the simulation is rather
insensitive to the averaging period of the model data. The auto correlation
function and frequency spectrum of the first principal component, as determined
from daily data, are characteristic of persistent phenomena with no preferred
periodicity. The autocorrelation time scale associated with this anomaly
pattern is estimated to be ~15 days.
The principal anomaly pattern in the Northern Hemisphere summer is relatively
less organized, while those for the Southern Hemisphere and the tropics
are noted for their zonal symmetry. The east-west sea level pressure seesaw
associated with the observed Southern Oscillation over the Pacific is not
simulated by the model, thus suggesting the potential role of nonseasonal
forcing mechanisms (such as sea surface temperature anomalies) in that phenomemnon.