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Coupled ocean‐atmospheric waves on the equatorial front
Author(s) -
Xie ShangPing,
Ishiwatari Masaki,
Hashizume Hiroshi,
Takeuchi Kensuke
Publication year - 1998
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 - 10.1029/1998gl900014
Subject(s) - geology , front (military) , equatorial waves , convection , kelvin wave , atmospheric sciences , atmospheric convection , planetary boundary layer , atmospheric circulation , satellite , climatology , wind wave , atmosphere (unit) , atmospheric wave , geophysics , troposphere , gravity wave , wave propagation , boundary layer , oceanography , meteorology , equator , physics , latitude , geodesy , astronomy , quantum mechanics , thermodynamics
Striking 20–30‐day sea surface temperature waves observed along the equatorial front in the later half of the year are generally believed to be of an oceanic origin. Here we report the detection of atmospheric waves that are unambiguously tied to these oceanic waves, using new satellite measurements of surface winds. A general circulation model simulation reveals that these atmospheric waves have a shallow vertical structure trapped in the planetary boundary layer (PBL), unlike El Nino/Southern Oscillation where changes in deep convection are the cause of anomalous winds. Vertical wave motion penetrates well above the PBL and is likely to impact the distribution and transport of climatically important gas species such as ozone and dimethyl sulfide.