Exploring multiyear-to-decadal North Atlantic sea level predictability and prediction using machine learning

Employing a self-organizing map-based framework, we assess the North Atlantic sea level variability and predictability using 5000-year sea level anomalies (SLA) from two preindustrial control model simulations. Preferred transitions among patterns of variability are identified, revealing long-term predictability on decadal timescales related to shifts in Atlantic meridional overturning circulation phases.

Combining this framework with model-analog techniques, we demonstrate prediction skill of large-scale SLA patterns and low-frequency coastal SLA variations comparable to that from initialized hindcasts. Moreover, additional short-term predictability is identified after the exclusion of low-frequency signals, which arises from slow gyre circulation adjustment triggered by the North Atlantic Oscillation-like stochastic variability.