Air Sea Interaction Patterns In The Equatorial Pacific

We have investigated air-sea interaction patterns in the equatorial Pacific during the 1991-1992 El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) event. Our study focused on the identification of spatial and temporal relationships between sea surface temperatures, subsurface temperatures, and winds. These relationships were examined using time series and statistical analyses of atmosphere and ocean data from the moored buoys of the Tropical Oceans-Global Atmosphere (TOGA) program. Our results strongly suggest that the heat content of the ocean mixed layer greatly affected air-sea interactions. In almost all regions, mixed layer warming was followed within one week by increased winds. In most cases, the mixed layer warming before wind events was accompanied by a thickening of the mixed layer, suggesting that internal waves were strongly influencing air-sea interactions. Increased winds tended to precede surface cooling and subsurface warming by a few days. There were strong correlations between warming (cooling) thermocline temperature and increased (decreased) zonal winds at the central and eastern equatorial Pacific buoys. In the central Pacific, thermocline warming (cooling) was associated with westerlies (easterlies). This suggested that equatorially trapped Kelvin waves warmed and thickened the mixed layer, resulting in increased zonal winds. In the central Pacific, these local zonal winds then reinforced the Kelvin waves through downwelling and upwelling. Ocean temperature inversions were found throughout the Pacific.

We have investigated air-sea interaction patterns in the equatorial Pacific during the 1991-1992 El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) event. Our study focused on the identification of spatial and temporal relationships between sea surface temperatures, subsurface temperatures, and winds. These relationships were examined using time series and statistical analyses of atmosphere and ocean data from the moored buoys of the Tropical Oceans-Global Atmosphere (TOGA) program. Our results strongly suggest that the heat content of the ocean mixed layer greatly affected air-sea interactions. In almost all regions, mixed layer warming was followed within one week by increased winds. In most cases, the mixed layer warming before wind events was accompanied by a thickening of the mixed layer, suggesting that internal waves were strongly influencing air-sea interactions. Increased winds tended to precede surface cooling and subsurface warming by a few days. There were strong correlations between warming (cooling) thermocline temperature and increased (decreased) zonal winds at the central and eastern equatorial Pacific buoys. In the central Pacific, thermocline warming (cooling) was associated with westerlies (easterlies). This suggested that equatorially trapped Kelvin waves warmed and thickened the mixed layer, resulting in increased zonal winds. In the central Pacific, these local zonal winds then reinforced the Kelvin waves through downwelling and upwelling. Ocean temperature inversions were found throughout the Pacific.

Tropical and Extratropical Air-Sea Interactions: Modes of Climate Variations provides a thorough introduction to global atmospheric and oceanic processes, as well as tropical, subtropical and mid-latitude ocean-atmosphere interactions. Written by leading experts in the field, each chapter is dedicated to a specific topic of air-sea interactions (such as ENSO, IOD, Atlantic Nino, ENSO Modoki, and newly discovered coastal Niños/Niñas) and their teleconnections. As the first book to cover all topics of tropical and extra-tropical air-sea interactions and new modes of climate variations, this book is an excellent resource for researchers and students of ocean, atmospheric and climate sciences. Presents case studies on the ocean-atmosphere phenomena, including El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO), Indian Ocean Dipole and different Nino/Nina phenomena Provides a clear description of air-sea relationships across the world’s ocean with an analysis of air-sea relations in different time scales and a focus on climate change Includes prospects for air-sea interaction research, thus benefiting young researchers and students

Long waves in the equatorial Pacific Ocean during the 1991-1993 El Nino event were examined using temperature, current, and wind time series from the Tropical Oceans-Global Atmosphere Tropical Atmosphere-Ocean (TOGA-TAO) moored buoy array. Numerous episodes of long wave activity were detected. The most prominent episodes were associated with eastward propagating equatorial Kelvin waves and with westward propagating tropical instability waves and mixed Rossby-gravity waves. Equatorial Kelvin waves, which were generated by westerly wind events in the western and central Pacific, were evident in the data between 2 deg N to 5 deg S and from 170 deg W to 110 deg W. These Kelvin waves, which were most pronounced from 75 to 300 m, had periods of 40 to 70 days, eastward phase speeds of 1.9 to 6.5 m/s, and zonal wavelengths on the order of 10,000 km. These waves were most evident in the northern hemisphere fall and winter. The period of greatest Kelvin wave activity was August 1991 -May 1992, during the peak phase of the 1991-1993 El Nino event.

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Masters Theses in the Pure and Applied Sciences was first conceived, published, and disseminated by the Center for Information and Numerical Data Analysis and Synthesis (CINDAS)* at Purdue University in 1957, starting its coverage of theses with the academic year 1955. Beginning with Volume 13, the printing and dis semination phases of the activity were transferred to University Microfilms/Xerox of Ann Arbor, Michigan, with the thought that such an arrangement would be more beneficial to the academic and general scientific and technical community. After five years of this joint undertaking we had concluded that it was in the interest of all concerned if the printing and distribution of the volumes were handled by an international publishing house to assure improved service and broader dissemination. Hence, starting with Volume 18, Masters Theses in the Pure and Applied Sciences has been disseminated on a worldwide basis by Plenum Publishing Corporation of New York, and in the same year the coverage was broadened to include Canadian universities. All back issues can also be ordered from Plenum. We have reported in Volume 38 (thesis year 1993) a total of 13,787 thesis titles from 22 Canadian and 164 United States universities. We are sure that this broader base for these titles reported will greatly enhance the value of this impor tant annual reference work. While Volume 38 reports theses submitted in 1993, on occasion, certain uni versities do report theses submitted in previous years but not reported at the time.