Let us consider first a heuristic derivation of an equation for the sea surface temperature in the East Pacific, which will be followed by a more rigorous derivation in the following sections. Assume that the East Pacific SST affects the atmospheric heating and thus the central Pacific wind speed. The resulting wind stress, in turn, excites equatorial Kelvin and Rossby ocean waves. These waves ...

A band of enhanced thermocline variability at 108–158N in the Pacific found in nature also occurs in an ocean general circulation model forced with observed fluxes of momentum, heat, and freshwater over the period 1958– 97. The variability in the model is primarily associated with long baroclinic Rossby waves characterized by periods in the decadal range (7–10 yr). The waves are forced by westw...

Diapycnal mixing affects the uptake of heat and carbon by the ocean as well as plays an important role in global ocean circulations and climate. In the thermocline, winds provide an important energy source for furnishing diapycnal mixing primarily through the generation of near-inertial internal waves. However, this contribution is largely missing in the current generation of climate models. In...

sensitivity of upper thermocline properties to tropical cyclone winds and possible feedbacks on the Hadley circulation" (2010). [1] The sensitivity of upper thermocline properties, and global climate, to tropical cyclone (TC) winds is examined using global ocean and atmosphere general circulation models. We combine seven years of global, satellite‐based TC wind records with a standard surface w...

Using the Monte Carlo method of statistical physics, we compute the equilibrium statistical mechanics of the shallow water equations, considered as a reduced-gravity model of the ocean’s upper layer in a square ocean that spans the equator. The ensemble-averaged flow comprises a westward drift at low latitudes, associated with the poleward deepening of the main thermocline, and a more intense c...

A new conceptual model for ENSO has been constructed based upon the positive feedback of tropical ocean– atmosphere interaction proposed by Bjerknes as the growth mechanism and the recharge–discharge of the equatorial heat content as the phase-transition mechanism suggested by Cane and Zebiak and by Wyrtki. This model combines SST dynamics and ocean adjustment dynamics into a coupled basinwide ...

0079-6611/$ see front matter Crown Copyright 2 doi:10.1016/j.pocean.2008.07.002 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +61 2 9385 7071; fax E-mail address: [email protected] (W.P. Sijp). We examine the effect of a northward shift in the position of the southern hemisphere subpolar westerly winds (SWWs) on the vertical and horizontal distribution of temperature and salinity in the world ocean. A northwa...