The Southeast Asian monsoon and El Nino-Southern Oscillation impact on the summer atmospheric circulation of East Mediterranean during 20th century based on ERA-20C and CMIP5 simulations

El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Indian summer monsoon (ISM) are the dominant modes of climate variability affecting the tropical and subtropical regions. In this study, we investigate the impact of ENSO episodes, through the modulation of the ISM configuration, on the Eastern Mediterranean (EMed) summer atmospheric circulation over the whole 20th century using state of the art model simulations from the 5th phase of the Climate Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5). Results are validated against the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Re-Analysis, ERA-20C. Our findings indicate that the variability of ENSO has a significant impact on the low and middle tropospheric circulation of EMed. La Nina (El Nino) events are related to stronger (weaker) ISM activity, which leads to a deepening (weakening) of the Persian low that affects the EMed tropospheric circulation with stronger (weaker) northerly surface winds over the area. Further, La Nina (El Nino) events are related with stronger (weaker) 500 hPa subsidence over the EMed and an intensification (weakening) of the Subtropical Jet Stream between 35 degrees N to 50 degrees N. This work improves our understanding of the teleconnections between ENSO variability and the EMed summer tropospheric circulation via the modulation of the ISM activity and stresses the importance of ENSO on the EMed climate in summer.