A Joint Statistical and Dynamical Assessment of Atmospheric Response to North Pacific Oceanic Variability in CCSM3

Atmospheric response to North Pacific oceanic variability is assessed in Community Climate System Model, version 3 (CCSM3) using two statistical methods and one dynamical method. All methods identify an equivalent barotropic low response to a warmer sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly in the Kuroshio Extension region (KOE) during early-midwinter. While all three methods capture the major features of the response, the generalized equilibrium feedback assessment method (GEFA) isolates the impact of KOE SST from a complex context, and thus makes itself an excellent choice for similar practice.