Funding is provided to explore mid-latitude air-sea interaction as a mechanism for decadal variability in the North Pacific and to develop a model that encompasses the essential physics of the decadal signal. The physics of the decadal signal will be investigated using a hierarchy of idealized models, simulations with ocean and coupled general circulation models, and analysis of historical data of upper ocean temperature and surface fluxes. The work will focus on the role of the sub-polar gyre, the vertical structure in the ocean, and the role of surface fluxes.
