A Diagnostic Study of the Role of Remote Forcing in Tropical Atlantic Variability

This observational study focuses on remote forcing of the dominant pattern of north tropical Atlantic sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies by ENSO and NAO. Based on a spring SST index of the north tropical Atlantic (NTA) SST (5-25N), it is shown that almost all NTA-SST extreme events from 1950 to the present can be related to either ENSO or NAO. Since the SST NTA events lag NAO and ENSO events, NTA variability is interpreted as being largely a response to remote NAO or ENSO forcing.