Intercomparison of tropical-to-high latitude teleconnection effects on Antarctic precipitation on multiple timescales in several atmospheric re-analyses

Increasing attention is being given to effects of tropical variability on high latitude climate via atmospheric bridges. Observed relationships are not stable, and some inconsistencies exist in the literature. We present examples from an intercomparison of how several existing atmospheric reanalysis products represent variability in precipitation and other atmospheric parameters over the Antarctic ice sheet that is statistically linked to ENSO, the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) and other aspects of tropical variability. Preliminary results show statistical correlations between precipitation averaged over the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) and ENSO are very similar among products, but that notable differences exist between products in terms of correlations between ENSO and precipitation over the Antarctic Peninsula and East Antarctica. Primary EOF modes for both interannual and intraseasonal variability show notable differences between products. Overall, caution must be taken when drawing conclusions about tropical-high latitude teleconnections from currently available atmospheric reanalyses. This work supports a broader effort under development at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory geared toward improving understanding and simulation of polar ice sheet outfluxes due to SMB using a coupled model framework involving JPL's Ice Sheet System Model (ISSM). This work also supports the need for continuing observations via the upcoming multi-agency Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission and future missions.