HR: 14:25h
AN: A53B-04    [Abstracts]
TI: Regional Ocean-Atmosphere Feedback in the Eastern Equatorial Pacific
AU: * Seo, H
EM: hyseo@ucsd.edu
AF: Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD, 9500 Gilman Dr. Mail-0224, La Jolla, CA 92093 United States
AU: Miller, A
EM: ajmiller@ucsd.edu
AF: Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD, 9500 Gilman Dr. Mail-0224, La Jolla, CA 92093 United States
AU: Jochum, M
EM: markus@cgd.ucar.edu
AF: NCAR-Oceanography, 1850 Table Mesa Drive, Boulder, CO 80305 United States
AU: Roads, J
EM: jroads@ucsd.edu
AF: Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD, 9500 Gilman Dr. Mail-0224, La Jolla, CA 92093 United States
AB: Regional air-sea interaction by oceanic internal variability in the eastern tropical Pacific is studied using high-resolution ocean-atmospheric coupled modeling system. It is shown that coupled model reproduces observed patterns of atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) response to SST by Tropical Instability Waves (TIWs), which induce different vertical stability adjustment within the ABL. We also study impact of atmospheric forcing by TIWs on mesoscale oceanic variability. A series of different coupled experiments are performed with ocean model that is coupled with atmosphere either through wind-stress or heat flux only. Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) analysis of SST and surface current by TIWs indicates that wind-stress amplifies strength of meso-scale variability, while heat flux forcing suppresses it. Furthermore, it is found that different coupling leads to different wave characteristics of TIWs (wavelength and phase speed, and its initiation time). This would also imply different mixed layer heat budget and hence SSTs over the equatorial cold tongue. Detailed mechanisms as to damping or amplifying of TIWs and its rectification to SST by atmospheric feedback are discussed.
DE: 3307 Boundary layer processes
DE: 4504 Air/sea interactions (0312, 3339)
DE: 4520 Eddies and mesoscale processes
SC: Atmospheric Sciences [A]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005