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Phase locking between atmospheric convectively coupled equatorial Kelvin waves and the diurnal cycle of precipitation over the Maritime Continent
Author(s) -
Baranowski Dariusz B.,
Flatau Maria K.,
Flatau Piotr J.,
Matthews Adrian J.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2016gl069602
Subject(s) - kelvin wave , diurnal cycle , equatorial waves , precipitation , climatology , convection , geology , atmospheric circulation , atmospheric wave , atmospheric sciences , phase (matter) , annual cycle , environmental science , meteorology , equator , gravity wave , geography , physics , geodesy , wave propagation , quantum mechanics , latitude
Abstract Convectively coupled Kelvin waves (CCKWs) are a major component of the tropical atmospheric circulation, propagating eastward around the equatorial belt. Here we show that there are scale interactions between CCKWs and the diurnal cycle over the Maritime Continent. In particular, CCKW packets that pass a base point in the eastern Indian Ocean at 90°E between 0600 and 0900 UTC subsequently arrive over Sumatra in phase with the diurnal cycle of convection. As the distance between Sumatra and Borneo is equal to the distance traveled by a CCKW in 1 day, these waves are then also in phase with the diurnal cycle over Borneo. Consequently, this subset of CCKWs has a precipitation signal up to a factor of 3 larger than CCKWs that arrive at other times of the day and a 40% greater chance of successfully traversing the Maritime Continent.