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Winter mean temperature variability in Turkey associated with the North Atlantic Oscillation

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Abstract

Changes and variability in seasonal average mean and monthly mean winter (DJF) air temperature series at 70 stations of Turkey and the circulation types at 500-hPa geopotential height level were investigated to explain atmospheric controls of temperature variations during the extreme (weak and strong) phases and normal (negative and positive) phases of the North Atlantic Oscillation (i.e., Ponta Delgada–Reykjavik and the Gibraltar–Reykjavik) indices. During the positive phases of the North Atlantic Oscillation indices (NAOIs), northeasterly circulation increased, and thus spatially coherent and significant cold signals dominate over the majority of Turkey. This pattern is closely linked to anomalously low 500-hPa heights over the region of the Icelandic Low, and anomalously high geopotential heights over the regions of the Azores High, the western Mediterranean basin and the Europe, in general including the Balkans and northwest Turkey. Contrarily, during the negative phases of the NAOIs, prevailing westerly winds that originate from the subtropical northeast Atlantic increase, and thus spatially coherent and significant warm signals over the Anatolian peninsula appear. This pattern is closely linked to the increased cyclonic activity and associated increased westerly and southwesterly circulation causing warm maritime air advection over the Mediterranean basin toward Turkey.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the Data Support Section of the NCAR (Boulder, Colorado, USA) for providing the 500-hPa geopotential height data, and P. D. Jones (Climatic Research Unit, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK) for providing monthly mean SLP data for the Reykjavik, Ponta Delgada, and Gibraltar stations. We also explain our appreciation to the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions on the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, Faculty of Sciences and Arts, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Terzioğlu Campus, 17020, Çanakkale, Turkey

    Murat Türkeş

  2. Department of Geography, University of Ege, Bornova, İzmir, Turkey

    Ecmel Erlat

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  1. Murat Türkeş
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  2. Ecmel Erlat
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Correspondence to Murat Türkeş.

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Türkeş, M., Erlat, E. Winter mean temperature variability in Turkey associated with the North Atlantic Oscillation. Meteorol Atmos Phys 105, 211–225 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00703-009-0046-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00703-009-0046-3

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