 |
| Titel |
Response of the Equatorial Atlantic Ocean to wind forcing anomalies |
| VerfasserIn |
M. Wade, Y. Dupenhoat, G. Caniaux, H. Giordani |
| Konferenz |
EGU General Assembly 2009
|
| Medientyp |
Artikel
|
| Sprache |
Englisch
|
| Digitales Dokument |
PDF |
| Erschienen |
In: GRA - Volume 11 (2009) |
| Datensatznummer |
250025858
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Zusammenfassung |
| A multimode linear model is used to simulate the Equatorial Atlantic
response to wind forcing anomalies. The model is forced with daily
data from the operational ECMWF analyses spanning a ten year period
of time. The model outputs are compared with satellite data derived
from TMI-AMRS-E for the SSTs and from TOPEX/POSEIDON for the sea
level anomalies. We focus our attention to the highly contrasted SST
differences observed between year 2005 and 2006 . 2005 was characterized
by unusual cool SSTs associated with an early cold tongue setup whereas
2006 exhibited abnormal warm SSTs in the Gulf of Guinea. The model
simulates this occurrence quite well. There is evidence that in the
band of latitude 3°S-3°N, the SST variability is mainly driven by the
wind stress. The quantification of each term in the model SST equation
indicates that east of 20°W, vertical advection plays a key role
in the SST signal. Further north and south of the Equator, SSTs seem
rather controlled by surface heat fluxes. However, the model does not
successfully simulate the SST variability because it is only driven by
the wind stress. Sea level and thermocline anomalies are also described
to document the planetary waves in the Equatorial Atlantic. |
|
|
|
|
|
|