27th Annual Meeting and Symposium of the
Desert Tortoise Council, March 22-24, 2002
Abstracts

Pacific Climate Influences on the Southwest from Days to Decades

Dan Cayan¹, Mike Dettinger¹, Alexander Gershunov, and Kelly Redmond^2
1Climate Research Division, U.S. Geological Survey, WRD, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Dept. 0224, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0224; 
²Western Regional Climate Center, Desert Research Institute, 2215 Raggio Parkway, Reno, Nevada 89512-1095

The effect of ENSO (El Nino/Southern California Oscillation) and the PDO (Pacific Decadal Oscillation) on climate variability in the Southwest is discussed. These climate modes are felt by Southwest desert ecosystems through their linkage to surface climate measures such as the frequency and intensity of precipitation, streamflow levels, and the frequency of temperature extremes. Because these modes develop over several month or several year time scales, there is enough lead time to provide useful seasonal predictive skill.