A teleconnection, in atmospheric sciences, is a strong correlation of temporal fluctuations between two meteorological parameters. In this study fluctuation at each observational point is considered to be the result of the dynamics of an atmospheric system that behaves in a complex manner. The main goal of this research is to study the collective behavior of the complete observational network. This work will extensively focus on the PIs earlier preliminary works to study in detail (1) the spatial and temporal variability of teleconnections during the last century in many atmospheric parameters, (2) the relation between teleconnections in different parameters, and (3) the relation between teleconnections and various indices such as the Southern Oscillation Index. This analysis will then be extended to modeled outputs to investigate the mode(s) of communication between tropics and midlatitudes. Finally, this analysis will be used to improve the predictive capability by identifying which regions on the planet are more likely to be affected by an anomaly pattern somewhere else.
Broader Impacts: The new insights from this study may help to improve climate predictions.