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Chapter 6: Arizona Climate and Riparian Areas
Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO)
Figure 6.6. Arizona sunset.
- The PDO is an El Niño-like pattern in Pacific climate variability that varies over decades.
- PDO phases (cold vs. warm) appear to be related to the frequency of El Niño or
La Niña events over periods of decades. The period from 1976 to present was a
warm PDO phase with a higher frequency of El Niño events. This was also a very
wet period for Arizona.
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