Multidecadal drought cycles in the Great Basin recorded by the Great Salt Lake: modulation from a transition-phase teleconnection

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Publication Type pre-print
School or College College of Mines & Earth Sciences
Department Meteorology
Creator Reichler, Thomas J.
Other Author Wang, Shih-Yu; Gillies, Rrobert R.
Title Multidecadal drought cycles in the Great Basin recorded by the Great Salt Lake: modulation from a transition-phase teleconnection
Date 2012-01-01
Description This study investigates the meteorological conditions associated with multidecadal drought cycles as revealed by lake level fluctuation of the Great Salt Lake (GSL). The analysis combined instrumental, proxy, and simulation datasets, including the Twentieth Century Reanalysis version 2, the North American Drought Atlas, and a 2000-yr control simulation of the GFDL Coupled Model, version 2.1 (CM2.1). Statistical evidence from the spectral coherence analysis points to a phase shift amounting to 6-9 yr between the wet-dry cycles in the Great Basin and the warm-cool phases of the interdecadal Pacific oscillation (IPO). Diagnoses of the sea surface temperature and atmospheric circulation anomalies attribute such a phase shift to a distinctive teleconnection wave train that develops during the transition points between the IPO's warm and cool phases. This teleconnection wave train forms recurrent circulation anomalies centered over the southeastern Gulf of Alaska; this directs moisture flux across the Great Basin and subsequently drives wet-dry conditions over the Great Basin and the GSL watershed. The IPO life cycle therefore modulates local droughts-pluvials in a quarter-phase manner.
Type Text
Publisher American Meteorological Society
Volume 25
Issue 5
First Page 1711
Last Page 1721
Dissertation Institution University of Utah
Language eng
Bibliographic Citation Wang, S.-Y., Gillies, R. R., & Reichler, T. (2012). Multidecadal drought cycles in the Great Basin recorded by the Great Salt Lake: modulation from a transition-phase teleconnection. Journal of Climate, 25(5), 1711-21.
Rights Management (c)American Meteorological Society
Format Medium application/pdf
Format Extent 2,992,699 bytes
Identifier uspace,17665
ARK ark:/87278/s63b6hvk
Setname ir_uspace
ID 708073
Reference URL https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s63b6hvk
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