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The Long-Term Course of the Annual Total Sunshine Duration in Europe and Changes in the Phases of the Thermohaline Circulation in the North Atlantic (1901–2018)

Andrzej A. Marsz
Andrzej A. Marsz
, 
Anna Styszyńska
Anna Styszyńska
 and 
Dorota Matuszko
Dorota Matuszko
   | Jun 27, 2023
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Published Online: Jun 27, 2023
Page range: 49 - 65
Received: Oct 30, 2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14746/quageo-2023-0023
© 2023 Andrzej A. Marsz et al., published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Fig. 1.

Course of the DG3L index in the years 1901–2018. Marked boundaries of negative and positive North Atlantic Thermohaline Circulation phases.
Course of the DG3L index in the years 1901–2018. Marked boundaries of negative and positive North Atlantic Thermohaline Circulation phases.

Fig. 2.

Time series of SD13S and the factor values of the first PC of this set (eigenvector PC1). PC, principal components; SD, sunshine duration.
Time series of SD13S and the factor values of the first PC of this set (eigenvector PC1). PC, principal components; SD, sunshine duration.

Fig. 3.

Relationship between the DG3L index and SD13S, 1901–2018. SD, sunshine duration.
Relationship between the DG3L index and SD13S, 1901–2018. SD, sunshine duration.

Fig. 4.

Cross-correlations between the DG3L index (antecedent variable) and sunshine duration SD13S (delayed variable). Graded curves – the range of ± standard errors SE that sets the limits of statistical significance p = 0.05 of a correlation. Correlated series 1901–2018.
Cross-correlations between the DG3L index (antecedent variable) and sunshine duration SD13S (delayed variable). Graded curves – the range of ± standard errors SE that sets the limits of statistical significance p = 0.05 of a correlation. Correlated series 1901–2018.

Fig. 5.

Distribution of asynchronous correlation coefficients between the annual sea surface temperature SST (1900–2017) in the North Atlantic and sunshine duration SD13S in the years 1901–2018. Dark pink colour denotes correlations that are highly statistically significant (p <0.001) and light pink colour denotes correlations that are statistically significant (p <0.05).
Distribution of asynchronous correlation coefficients between the annual sea surface temperature SST (1900–2017) in the North Atlantic and sunshine duration SD13S in the years 1901–2018. Dark pink colour denotes correlations that are highly statistically significant (p <0.001) and light pink colour denotes correlations that are statistically significant (p <0.05).

Fig. 6.

Distribution of synchronous correlation coefficients between the annual sea surface temperature SST (1901–2018) in the North Atlantic and sunshine duration SD13S in the years 1901–2018. Designations as in Figure 5.
Distribution of synchronous correlation coefficients between the annual sea surface temperature SST (1901–2018) in the North Atlantic and sunshine duration SD13S in the years 1901–2018. Designations as in Figure 5.

Fig. 7.

Course of the average annual SST (SSTST) from grids [40°N, 50°W] and [40°N, 60°W] and SD13S. Bold solid lines – fitting with a 5th-degree polynomial to empirical courses. SD, sunshine duration; SST, sea surface temperature.
Course of the average annual SST (SSTST) from grids [40°N, 50°W] and [40°N, 60°W] and SD13S. Bold solid lines – fitting with a 5th-degree polynomial to empirical courses. SD, sunshine duration; SST, sea surface temperature.

Fig. 8.

Linear correlation coefficients (r) between SD13S and the meridional SST gradient in the North Atlantic between 30 and 60°N to 40°W (average ϕ = 45°N; dSST[40W]) and the geopotential height at h500 at 45°, 50° and 55°N. Significance levels of correlation (p) are marked. Period of analysis 1949–2018. SD, sunshine duration; SST, sea surface temperature.
Linear correlation coefficients (r) between SD13S and the meridional SST gradient in the North Atlantic between 30 and 60°N to 40°W (average ϕ = 45°N; dSST[40W]) and the geopotential height at h500 at 45°, 50° and 55°N. Significance levels of correlation (p) are marked. Period of analysis 1949–2018. SD, sunshine duration; SST, sea surface temperature.

Fig. 9.

Distribution of the values of the correlation coefficients between the height of the geopotential 500 hPa at 50°N (from 10°W to 60° E) and the DG3L index and the annual mean SST at 40°N, 60–50°W (variable SSTST). Significance levels (p = 0.001 and p = 0.05) are marked. SST, sea surface temperature.
Distribution of the values of the correlation coefficients between the height of the geopotential 500 hPa at 50°N (from 10°W to 60° E) and the DG3L index and the annual mean SST at 40°N, 60–50°W (variable SSTST). Significance levels (p = 0.001 and p = 0.05) are marked. SST, sea surface temperature.

Average values of the annual area sunshine duration over Europe (SD13S) and the ranges of their variability in the subsequent North Atlantic Thermohaline Circulation phases.

North Atlantic Thermohaline Circulation phase Years Duration (years) SD13S (h)
Average Min Max Median
1 1901–1926 26 1,681.7 1,497.0 2,050.2 1,661.2
2 1927–1963 37 1,730.1 1,514.2 1,921.7 1,718.1
3 1964–1988 25 1,575.7 1,415.9 1,735.2 1,582.9
4 1989–2018 31 1,770.0 1,597.1 2,032.3 1,759.0

Stations used in the study.

No. Station Country Geographical coordinates Altitude (m a.s.l.) Number of supplementations of annual mean values Data source
  1 Armagh GB 54.35°N, 6.65°W   62 0 Met Office
  2 De Bilt NL 52.10°N, 5.18°E     1 1 (1945) ECAD
  3 Geneva CH 46.20°N, 6.15°E 405 0 ECAD
  4 Basel CH 47.53°N, 7.58°E 316 0 HISTALP
  5 Zurich CH 47.38°N, 8.57°E 555 0 ECAD
  6 Copenhagen DK 56.68°N, 12.53°E     9 0 DMI
  7 Potsdam DE 52.38°N, 13.06°E   81 1 (1945) DWD
  8 Kremsmunster AT 48.06°N, 14.13°E 382 0 HISTALP
  9 Klagenfurt AT 46.65°N, 14.32°E 459 0 HISTALP
10 Zagreb HR 45.82°N, 15.97°E 157 1 (1921) HISTALP
11 Vienna AT 48.25°N, 16.36°E 209 0 HISTALP
12 Wroclaw PL 51.10°N, 16.90°E 120 0 Brys (2013), Marsz et al. (2021)
13 Krakow PL 50.07°N, 19.97°E 206 0 IGiGP UJ

Characteristics of the DG3L index in the North Atlantic Thermohaline Circulation phases occurring in the years 1901–2018.

North Atlantic Thermohaline Circulation Phases Years Duration (years) DG3L index
Average Min Max STD
1 1901–1926 26 −0.846 −1.921   0.682 0.605
2 1927–1963 37   0.844 −0.116   1.879 0.563
3 1964–1988 25 −0.782 −1.836 −0.073 0.472
4 1989–2018 31   1.851   0.299   4.836 1.226
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