HR: 14:40h
AN: A53B-05    [Abstracts]
TI: Impacts of Central America Gap Winds on the SST Annual Cycle in the Eastern Pacific Warm Pool
AU: * Sun, F
EM: sunf@uci.edu
AF: Department of Earth System Science, University of California, Irvine, Earth System Science, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697-3100 United States
AU: Yu, J
EM: jyyu@uci.edu
AF: Department of Earth System Science, University of California, Irvine, Earth System Science, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697-3100 United States
AB: The annual cycle of sea surface temperature (SST) in the eastern Pacific warm pool and its relation to Central American gap winds are examined. It is found that local maxima in the amplitude of the SST annual harmonic are located underneath regions where the Tehuantepec and Papagayo gap winds blow. Through a series of ocean model experiments and subsequent heat budget analyses, it is found that the gap winds enhance the SST annual cycle primarily through wind-induced vertical advection. The strong gap winds in boreal winter shoal the thermocline while the weak gap winds in late spring and summer deepen the thermocline. The annual cycle of the thermocline depth affects the vertical advection in the ocean and leads to the enhancement of the annual cycle in SST. The thermal forcing effect of the gap winds is a less important modulating force for the SST annual cycle.
DE: 3339 Ocean/atmosphere interactions (0312, 4504)
SC: Atmospheric Sciences [A]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005