Scholarly record
STUDY OF THE INFLUENCE OF THE NORTH-ATLANTIC OSCILLATION ON THE SNOW COVER CONDITIONS IN BULGARIA
Abstract
The NAO index has a strong influence on weather over West Europe and the Mediterranean basin but less prominent over the east part of Europe. The aim of this study is the assessment of the influence of the North-Atlantic oscillation on the snow cover conditions in Bulgaria. The winter (December thru March) station-based index of the NAO is used for the current survey as well as data for snow cover maximums from 10 meteorological stations, 4 of them mountainous, for the main period 1930-2020. The linear relation between the NAO index and the snow maxima has been estimated with cross-correlation analysis for the winter months. However, no significant correlation has been found for all investigated stations. One explanation could be the distance from the Atlantic region and the stronger influence of the winter cyclones in the Mediterranean Sea and the Mediterranean oscillation (MO), which could differ considerable from the North-Atlantic one. The study started in an earlier project for postdoctoral research funded by the Bulgarian National Science Fund but is also part of a common project for investigation of the current variability of the snow cover and winter precipitations in the mountain regions of Austria and Bulgaria and is funded by the Bulgarian National Science Fund and the Austria's Agency for Education and Internationalisation in the call of the bilateral program Scientific and Technological Cooperation between both countries.
Publication Impact Profile
- Citations
- Scopus - Citation Indexes: 1
- Captures
- Mendeley - Readers: 3
Publication details
References14
Hurrell, J.W., Decadal trends in the North Atlantic Oscillation and relationships to regional temperature and precipitation. Science 269, 676-679, 1995;
Jones, P.D., Jónsson, T. and Wheeler, D., Extension to the North Atlantic Oscillation using early instrumental pressure observations from Gibraltar and South-West Iceland. Int. J. Climatol. 17, 1433-1450. DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-0088(19971115)17:13<1433::AID-JOC203>3.0.CO;2-P, 1997;
Osborn TJ, Winter 2009/2010 temperatures and a record-breaking North Atlantic Oscillation index. Weather 66, 19-21, 2011;
Beniston M., Variations in snow depth and duration in the Swiss Alps over the last 50 years; links to changes in the large scale climatic forcings. Climatic Change 36: 281–300, 1997b;
Beniston, M., F. Keller, B. Koffi, and S. Goyette, Estimates of snow accumulation and volume in the Swiss Alps under changing climatic conditions, Theor. Appl. Climatol., 76, 125–140, 2003;
S. A. Josey, S. Somot, and M. Tsimplis, “Impacts of atmospheric modes of variability onMediterranean Sea surface heat exchange,” Journal of Geophysical Research C, vol. 116, no. 2, Article ID C02032, 2011
V. P. Papadopoulos,H.Kontoyiannis, S. Ruiz, andN. Zarokanellos, “Influence of atmospheric circulation on turbulent air-sea heat fluxes over theMediterranean Sea duringwinter,” Journal of Geophysical Research C, vol. 117, no. 3,Article IDC03044, 2012.
V. Papadopoulos, S. Josey, A. Bartzokas, S. Somot, S. Ruiz, and P. Drakopoulou, “Large-scale atmospheric circulation favoring deep – and intermediate- water formation in the Mediterranean Sea,” Journal of Climate, vol. 25, pp. 6079–6091, 2012;
H. Kutiel and Y. Benaroch, “North Sea-Caspian pattern (NCP)—an upper level atmospheric teleconnection affecting the EasternMediterranean: identification and definition,” Theoretical and Applied Climatology, vol. 71, no. 1-2, pp. 17–28, 2002.
H. Kutiel, P. Maheras, M. T¨urkes，, and S. Paz, “North Sea - Caspian Pattern (NCP)—an upper level atmospheric teleconnection affecting the eastern Mediterranean—implications on the regional climate,” Theoretical and Applied Climatology, vol.72, no. 3-4, pp. 173–192, 2002.
M. G¨und¨uz and E. Ozsoy, “Effects of the North Sea Caspian pattern on surface fluxes of Euro-Asian-Mediterranean seas,” Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 32,Article ID L21701, 2005.
M. Brunetti and H. Kutiel, “The relevance of the North-Sea Caspian Pattern (NCP) in explaining temperature variability in Europe and the Mediterranean,” Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, vol. 11, no. 10, pp. 2881–2888, 2011.
M. Conte, A. Giuffrida, and S. Tedesco, “The Mediterranean Oscillation, impact on precipitation and hydrology in Italy,” in Conference on Climate Water, pp. 121–137, Publications of the Academy of Finland, Helsinki, 1989.
Stanev Sv. et al., The Climate of Bulgaria, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, p. 499, 1991
View or Download full articleAccess options
SWS access login
Login as SWS Scientific CommitteeLogin as SWS Scientific PartnerLogin as SWS AuthorAuthors and approved SWS contributors will read and export their own linked papers after identity matching by SWS profile, email and SGEM GlobalID.
For librarian assistance: [email protected]
Purchase Instant Access
- Article can be downloaded after successful payment.
- Article may be used according to SWS library access terms.
- Article cannot be redistributed.