Dominant Imprint of Rossby Waves in the Climate Network

The connectivity pattern of networks based on ground level temperature records shows a dense stripe of links in the extra tropics of the southern hemisphere. We show that statistical categorization of these links yields a clear association with the pattern of an atmospheric Rossby wave, one of the major mechanisms associated with the weather system and with planetary scale energy transport. It is shown that alternating densities of negative and positive links are arranged in half Rossby wave distances around 3500, 7000, and 10 000 km and are aligned with the expected direction of energy flow, distribution of time delays, and the seasonality of these waves. In addition, long distance links that are associated with Rossby waves are the most dominant in the climate network.