Abstract
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS,
VOL. 33,
L12610,
5 PP., 2006
doi:10.1029/2006GL026304
Near 5-day nonisostatic response of the Atlantic Ocean to atmospheric surface pressure deduced from sub-surface and bottom pressure measurements
Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, Narragansett, Rhode Island, USA
Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, Narragansett, Rhode Island, USA
Nonisostatic ocean responses to atmospheric pressure have been observed in tropical regions of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans at periods near 5 days. Barotropic ocean model simulations coupled to atmospheric forcing predicted that this nonisostatic ocean response is driven not regionally but globally by the Rossby-Haurwitz wave. To date little observational evidence has been provided to support the model simulations, especially at extratropical latitudes. Here we present the basin-scale nature of the nonisostatic response in the Atlantic Ocean near 5-day periods using four historical long-term (≥1.5 year) sub-surface and bottom pressure measurements spanning from 16°S to 37°N. Joint analysis of them together with global-gridded atmospheric pressure reveals a basin-scale nonisostatic sea level fluctuation in the North and tropical Atlantic Oceans near 5-day periods with almost uniform phase. It also confirms that the driving force for this near 5-day fluctuation is the westward propagating Rossby-Haurwitz wave.
Received 14 March 2006; accepted 22 May 2006; published 29 June 2006.
Citation: (2006), Near 5-day nonisostatic response of the Atlantic Ocean to atmospheric surface pressure deduced from sub-surface and bottom pressure measurements, Geophys. Res. Lett., 33, L12610, doi:10.1029/2006GL026304.
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