Open AccessChanges in the ENSO–rainfall relationship in the Mediterranean California border region
Author(s) -
Pavia Edgar G.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
atmospheric science letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.951
H-Index - 45
ISSN - 1530-261X
DOI - 10.1002/asl.741
Subject(s) - el niño southern oscillation , mediterranean climate , precipitation , climatology , wet season , southern oscillation , environmental science , mediterranean area , dry season , geography , geology , meteorology , cartography , archaeology
The El Niño‐Southern Oscillation (ENSO)–rainfall relationship in the Mediterranean California border region (MCBR) changed recently: considering 30‐year running periods (1951–1952 to 1980–1981, until 1986–1987 to 2015–2016) in four stations, ENSO–rainfall correlations ( r ), and mean precipitation ( P ) decreased almost simultaneously. Moreover, r and P appear related throughout the entire record: at the beginning and recently both seem lower than at an intermediate stage. Similar results are found for gridded precipitation data in the vicinity of the MCBR, suggesting that periods of recurrent dry seasons have been less related to ENSO than periods of numerous rainy seasons in this region during the last 65 years.