SOLAR ACTIVITY, PRESSURE WAVE IN THE ARCTIC SURFACE ATMOSPHERE, AND MULTIYEAR CHANGES IN THE ARCTIC OSCILLATION

A. G. Egorov

Analysis of the space—time distribution of surface pressure anomalies in comparison with the structure of the solar cycle has shown the presence in the Arctic of natural oscillations of the type of pressure wave. It is demonstrated for the first time that the increase in solar activity for several years at the solar cycle maximum is accompanied by the formation of related surface pressure anomalies of opposite sign in the Atlantic and Pacific part of the Arctic. The nodal line of the pressure wave spreads in space over the polar region during the 20th century. Variations of the pressure wave lead to a change in the intensity of the circulation mass exchange between the middle and high latitudes, which is reflected in multiyear variations of the Arctic Oscillation index. The regularities in the evolution of the pressure wave in even and odd solar cycles determine a characteristic rhythm of the Arctic Oscillation of duration of about a decade and a half.