CR 20:271-279 (2002)  -  doi:10.3354/cr020271

ABSTRACT: Principal component analysis (PCA) is widely used in atmospheric science, and the resulting empirical orthogonal functions (EOFs) are often rotated to aid interpretation. In this paper 3 methods are described which provide alternatives to the standard 2-stage procedure of PCA followed by rotation. The techniques are illustrated on a small example involving sea-surface temperatures in the Mediterranean. Each method is shown to give different simplified interpretations for the major sources of variation in the data set. All 3 techniques have advantages over standard rotation.

KEY WORDS: EOFs · Simplification · Interpretation · Rotation · LASSO · Mediterranean · SST