Premium
Tropical Atlantic surface current variability from 10 years of TOPEX/Poséïdon altimetry
Author(s) -
Arnault Sabine,
Kestenare Elodie
Publication year - 2004
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 - 10.1029/2003gl019210
Subject(s) - altimeter , tropical atlantic , climatology , geostrophic wind , empirical orthogonal functions , north atlantic oscillation , geostrophic current , geology , sea surface height , ocean surface topography , dynamic height , satellite altimetry , gulf stream , current (fluid) , structural basin , ocean current , sea surface temperature , oceanography , geodesy , hydrography , geomorphology
10 years of surface geostrophic currents from TOPEX/Poséïdon altimetric data are used to describe the low frequency variability of the tropical Atlantic circulation through Empirical Orthogonal Function analysis. The seasonal variability clearly agrees with previous studies based on climatological data. It shows the tropical Atlantic response to seasonal fluctuations of the overlying wind system. More interesting is the capability, using altimetry, to reach for the first time on a basin scale the year‐to‐year variability from measurements. Abnormal events occur in 1996–1997 and in 2001 with different spatial scales regarding both large scale zonal distribution and regional variability located in the north‐western basin. A first attempt to link these events to climatic indexes (El Niño‐Southern Oscillation, North Atlantic Oscillation) is also evocated.