Linkages between Summer Rainfall Variability over South America and Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies

Abstract

A reconstructed rainfall dataset, and satellite estimates are used to analyze interannual to decadal variability of austral summer precipitation over South America. Rotated empirical orthogonal function (REOF) analysis is applied to isolate dominant patterns of rainfall. Links of these patterns to sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTAs) are examined. The leading mode is related to El Niño?Southern Oscillation (ENSO), which explains 12% of the total variance. During warm ENSO events, the positive phase of this mode shows dry conditions over northern South America and wet conditions over the subtropical plains between 25° and 35°S. The situation reverses during cold events. The second REOF 2, which explains about 10.8% of the total variance, consists of positive loadings over northeast Brazil centered at 50°W near the equator and negative loadings over Colombia and the subtropical plains. For December?January?February (DJF), REOF 2 is influenced by tropical South Atlantic SSTAs through displacements of the intertropical convergence zone. Northeast Brazil receives most rainfall in March?April?May (MAM) and it is modulated by both the Atlantic SSTAs and ENSO. In the interannual frequency band, the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) has very limited influence on rainfall. On the decadal timescales, the NAO leads REOF 2 by three years. Latitudinal variations of tropical convection are through the joint contribution of REOF 2 and REOF 4. REOF 4 is similar to REOF 2, but centers are displaced about 10° south. When these two EOFs are both positive, central South America is wet. The amplitudes of REOF 2 and REOF 4 are small during the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s and they are out of phase from 1968 to 1970, periods with persistent dry conditions over the upper La Plata River basin.