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316D.F.M GHERARDI ET ALLIthe Brazilian LME can be explored in the correlationmaps of Fig. 3. These maps show a scenario wherecorrelations with TNA are limited to the southernhalf of the EB LME during the warm PDO phase,with a single correlation area between 15° and 25° S,and points to a possible indirect influence via ENSOteleconnection over the region. In fact, the TNAitself is forced by the ENSO and is likely to be ofmarginal importance to the NB and EB LME ifcompared to the meridional propagations of SSTAsin the tropical Atlantic (Andreoli & Kayano 2004). Itis worth mentioning the significant differencesbetween cold and warm PDO correlations for theTNA. This is a recurrent feature that highlights theimportance of decadal variability in shaping spatialpatterns of LME vulnerability to climate change.Interpretations regarding the TSA should bemade with caution due to the proximity of the EBLME with the region from which the index has beencalculated. However, the antisymmetric (opposedsigns) correlation pattern observed in the SB LME,during the warm PDO phase, may be related withthe northeast-southeast SST dipole suggested byGrodsky & Carton (2006). It is beyond the scope ofthe present work to discuss the applicability of theterm dipole but our results point to a basin scaleinterannual relation between the SB LME SSTA andthe so-called TAV. It is important to highlight thatnot only TAV may have an impact in SB LME but itstrengthened after 1977, since it was absent duringthe PDO cold phase. Again, the negative correlationsof TSA found only for the southern half of the SBFigure 4. Significant correlation maps for AAO (warm PDO phase only) indicating the time and space evolution ofcorrelation fields along four time lags (from zero to 22 months). Black lines correspond to the limits between LMEs inBrazil and were added for reference. Color bar is in (nondimensional) units of correlation.Pan-American Journal of Aquatic Sciences (2010), 5(2): 310-319