Sensitivity of temperature teleconnections to orbital changes in AO-GCM simulations

Abstract

Teleconnections of interannual January air temperature variations over four regions are investigated based on quasi-equilibrium simulations with the general circulation model ECHO-G for three periods: the last interglacial (125 kyr BP - early Eemian); the last glacial inception (115 kyr BP) and the preindustrial period. The simulated teleconnections represent the teleconnection component due to internal climate variability and are in many regions closely linked to the temperature signal of the Arctic Oscillation. The hemispheric-scale structure of temperature teleconnections is robust with respect to orbital forcing, but differences between the simulations are found on spatial scales up to several 1000 km. In the Eemian simulation teleconnections between temperatures in central Siberia (south of Greenland) and temperatures in many extratropical northern hemispheric regions are stronger (weaker) compared to the other two simulations, while teleconnections for northeastern and western Europe show more complex differences.