Damien Irving edited results_general.tex  about 8 years ago

Commit id: 1083279d7613321b9b28af184d17ae66abf9e0ac

deletions | additions      

       

Important insights were also obtained by considering the phase distribution across all individual PSA-like data times (Figure \ref{fig:phase_distribution}). On an annual basis the distribution is clearly bimodal, with the two maxima of the kernel density estimate located at 12.75$^{\circ}$E and 45.0$^{\circ}$E. Since the phase was defined as the location of the first local maxima of the wavenumber 6 component of the Fourier transform, this approximate 30$^{\circ}$ phase separation indicates a pair of spatial patterns that are exactly out of phase (Figure \ref{fig:sf_composites}). Taken together these patterns clearly represent the single most dominant mode of variability in the PSA sector, and closely resemble the PSA-1 mode identified by previous authors. On the basis of this finding, it appears that filtering the PSA-like data times according to the location of the two local maxima represents a simple and valid technique for isolating the PSA pattern from the larger population of PSA-like variability.   The spatial patterns corresponding to the local minima of the phase distribution are also shown in Figure \ref{fig:sf_composites}, in an attempt to summarize the characteristics of the remaining PSA-like variability. The three anomaly centers associated with these composite mean circulation patterns have different amplitudes (the middle anomaly has a larger amplitude than the others), which indicates that it was often not a coordinated wave pattern that the identification algorithm was picking up (i.e. not the coordinated PSA-2 waveform discussed by previous authors, despite the similarity in wave phase). Looking at the individual data times corresponding to those minima (not shown), they appear to be a mixture ofisolated Amundsen Sea Low or Antarctic Dipole variability,  the hemispheric zonal wave three pattern,or  a more meridionally oriented wave train extending from the tropical Pacific to the Amundsen Sea. Sea \citep[e.g.][]{Clem2015,Clem2015a}, or isolated Amundsen Sea Low or Antarctic Dipole variability.