Decadal variations in the tropical South Atlantic and linkages to the Pacific

Linkages between the sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTAs) in the southern tropical Atlantic (STA) and in the Pacific on decadal time scales were examined. Seven to eight years before warming in the STA, an ENSO‐like decadal SSTA pattern with positive anomalies in the Tropics and negative anomalies in the subtropics appears in the Pacific. In the Atlantic, negative anomalies are located in the North Atlantic, while the corresponding sea level pressure anomaly (SLPA) composite resembles a North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) pattern. After the establishment of the NAO, a pattern with the band structure of alternating positive and negative anomalies with warming in the STA appears 6 years later in the Atlantic. In the Pacific, warm SSTAs shift from the date line to the eastern Pacific three to four years later after the ENSO ‐like pattern appears. Soon after, a wave train extends from the Pacific to the tip of Argentina and negative anomalies appear in the South Atlantic. Warming starts in the STA. While SSTAs in the Pacific and the Atlantic may not vary as a single mode, two oceans interact when SSTAs in the Pacific are strong enough to generate downstream responses. These anomalies in turn contribute to the variations of SSTAs over the STA.