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Research Highlights

We aim to feature the latest research results from US scientists whose published paper features work that is sponsored by one or more sponsoring agency programs of US CLIVAR (NASA, NOAA, NSF, DOE, ONR). Check out the collection of research highlights below and sort by topic on the right. Interested in submitting an article for consideration? See our Research Highlight Submission Guidelines page for more information. 

Schematic representation of the (a) atmospheric “non-frontal” and (b) atmospheric “frontal” components
New perspectives regarding Gulf Stream and Kuroshio Extension influence on the atmosphere

New research illustrates that the key to recognizing the influence of the Gulf Stream and Kuroshio Extension on the seasonal mean and longer-term climate is through a proper understanding of how the ocean influences atmospheric fronts.

Boxplots showing how well model forecasts capture the observations between the two winter seasons, 2016–17 minus 2015–16
California winter precipitation linked to the Arctic Oscillation

California precipitation is well forecast when the Arctic Oscillation phase is correctly captured by a state-of-the-art forecast system, GloSea5.

Schematic representation of proposed dynamical mechanisms in summer
The influence of Arctic amplification on mid-latitude summer circulation

Researchers conduct a comprehensive review of research on summer weather stalling, focusing on the influence of Arctic amplification and how it could interact with other factors influenced by climate change.

Subsurface ocean heat content anomalies regressed onto low-pass filtered time series of eastern tropical Pacific sea surface temperature anomalies. The black boxes outline the eastern (10°–20°S, 100°–120°E) and western (10°–20°S, 50°–90°E) Indian Ocean, showing the east–west dipole structure.
Pacific influences decadal Indian Ocean heat content via two distinct mechanisms

In two papers, Jin and coauthors investigated how decadal variations of subsurface ocean heat content (50–300 m) in the Indian Ocean respond to conditions in the Pacific region.

linear model accounting for changes in drying ratio and mean source distance
Global patterns of evaporation and precipitation leave a traceable isotopic fingerprint

A new study shows that a simple linear model that accounts for changes in mean source distance, as well as the local drying ratio, can successfully replicate water isotopic variations in space and time.

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