Amazon River and decadal solar cycle: Are they linked?

ANDRÉS ANTICO; MARÍA EUGENIA TORRES

Santiago

Conferencia; 11 International Conference on Southern Hemisphere Meteorology and Oceanography; 2015

AMS

It has been shown that the tropical climate system could be largely influenced by the decadal solar cycle. However, relations between this solar forcing and the tropical Amazon River have been overlooked. Here we reveal an evidence of such a link by applying a modern data-driven decomposition method to a 1903-present record of Amazon discharge. We find a decadal flow cycle that is anti-correlated with the solar activity measured by the decadal sunspot cycle. This relation persists trough time and is physically consistent with previously observed solar influences on the tropical North Atlantic Ocean. The amplitude of the decadal flow oscillation is apparently modulated by the interdecadal variability of North Atlantic climate. Since Amazonia is an important element of the planetary water cycle, our findings have implications for global change studies.