colder and drier than normal climate, and low SLP over southern Europe and the
Mediterranean where a wetter and warmer than normal climate tend to prevail (e.g.,
Brönnimann et al. 2007). The anomalies associated with the responses to La Niña
events are approximately opposite in sign to those of El Niño. In Europe, this signal
tends to maximize in late winter (January–March), lagging the central Pacific SST
maximum anomalies by a few months (Moron and Gouirand 2003). Several mechanisms to connect the signal between the Pacific and Atlantic basins have been
proposed, involving: the atmosphere over the North Pacific (e.g., Graf and
Zanchettin 2012; Zhang et al. 2015), the stratosphere (e.g., Bell et al. 2009), or the
effects over the North Atlantic atmospheric circulation of the delayed tropical
Atlantic SST anomalies following the ENSO maximum (e.g., Li et al. 2007; Davini
et al. 2015).
Mariotti et al. (2002), Knippertz et al. (2003) explored the nonstationary relation
between ENSO variability in boreal winter and the large-scale circulation and
weather conditions over Europe–northwest Africa in spring, considering precipitation, SLP anomalies, and NAO indices and confirmed that the relation between
Euro-Mediterranean rainfall and ENSO had been changing in the course of the last
century. They find that spring rainfall is significantly anti-correlated at the beginning
and the end of the last century and that there was no such link between the 1930s and
1960s. The variability of ENSO–rainfall correlations over the last century could be
consistent with the fact that the relation of ENSO and SLP anomalies over Europe
was not constant over this period (van Loon and Madden 1981), which can be seen
as a high uncertainty in the relationship between ENSO and NAO.
Acknowledgments We acknowledge the use of imagery from the NASA Worldview application
(https://worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov), part of the NASA Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS).
References
Adjez A (2000) Changes in the rainfall regime in the North-African region: links with large-scale
oscillation phenomena. In: Conference Abstracts ‘Detection and modelling of recent climate
change and its effects on a regional scale’, Tarragona; 24. http://forfreearticles.blogspot.com/
2012/03/precipitation-in-madjerda-basin.html
AEMET-IM (2011) Iberian Climate Atlas. Air temperature and precipitation (1971–2000). Ed:
Agencia Estatal de Meteorología and Instituto de Meteorologia – Portugal. http://hdl.handle.net/
20.500.11765/372
Alpert P, Tsidulko M, Itzigsohn D (1999) A shallow, short-lived meso-β cyclone over the Gulf of
Antalya, eastern Mediterranean. Tellus A 51:249–262. https://doi.org/10.1034/j.1600-0870.
1999.t01-2-00006.x
Anderson G, Klugmann D (2014) A European lightning density analysis using 5 years of ATDnet
data. Nat Hazards Earth Syst Sci 14:815–829. https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-14-815-2014
Appenzeller C, Davies HC (1992) Structure of stratospheric intrusions into the troposphere. Nature
358:570–572. https://doi.org/10.1038/358570a0
3 Alboran Sea Area Climate and Weather
69
Mediterranean where a wetter and warmer than normal climate tend to prevail (e.g.,
Brönnimann et al. 2007). The anomalies associated with the responses to La Niña
events are approximately opposite in sign to those of El Niño. In Europe, this signal
tends to maximize in late winter (January–March), lagging the central Pacific SST
maximum anomalies by a few months (Moron and Gouirand 2003). Several mechanisms to connect the signal between the Pacific and Atlantic basins have been
proposed, involving: the atmosphere over the North Pacific (e.g., Graf and
Zanchettin 2012; Zhang et al. 2015), the stratosphere (e.g., Bell et al. 2009), or the
effects over the North Atlantic atmospheric circulation of the delayed tropical
Atlantic SST anomalies following the ENSO maximum (e.g., Li et al. 2007; Davini
et al. 2015).
Mariotti et al. (2002), Knippertz et al. (2003) explored the nonstationary relation
between ENSO variability in boreal winter and the large-scale circulation and
weather conditions over Europe–northwest Africa in spring, considering precipitation, SLP anomalies, and NAO indices and confirmed that the relation between
Euro-Mediterranean rainfall and ENSO had been changing in the course of the last
century. They find that spring rainfall is significantly anti-correlated at the beginning
and the end of the last century and that there was no such link between the 1930s and
1960s. The variability of ENSO–rainfall correlations over the last century could be
consistent with the fact that the relation of ENSO and SLP anomalies over Europe
was not constant over this period (van Loon and Madden 1981), which can be seen
as a high uncertainty in the relationship between ENSO and NAO.
Acknowledgments We acknowledge the use of imagery from the NASA Worldview application
(https://worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov), part of the NASA Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS).
References
Adjez A (2000) Changes in the rainfall regime in the North-African region: links with large-scale
oscillation phenomena. In: Conference Abstracts ‘Detection and modelling of recent climate
change and its effects on a regional scale’, Tarragona; 24. http://forfreearticles.blogspot.com/
2012/03/precipitation-in-madjerda-basin.html
AEMET-IM (2011) Iberian Climate Atlas. Air temperature and precipitation (1971–2000). Ed:
Agencia Estatal de Meteorología and Instituto de Meteorologia – Portugal. http://hdl.handle.net/
20.500.11765/372
Alpert P, Tsidulko M, Itzigsohn D (1999) A shallow, short-lived meso-β cyclone over the Gulf of
Antalya, eastern Mediterranean. Tellus A 51:249–262. https://doi.org/10.1034/j.1600-0870.
1999.t01-2-00006.x
Anderson G, Klugmann D (2014) A European lightning density analysis using 5 years of ATDnet
data. Nat Hazards Earth Syst Sci 14:815–829. https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-14-815-2014
Appenzeller C, Davies HC (1992) Structure of stratospheric intrusions into the troposphere. Nature
358:570–572. https://doi.org/10.1038/358570a0
3 Alboran Sea Area Climate and Weather
69