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GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 34, L09701, doi:10.1029/2007GL029719, 2007

Interannual variations of tropical instability waves observed by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission

Qiaoyan Wu

Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA


Kenneth P. Bowman

Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA


Abstract

Eight years of microwave data from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite are used to study the interannual variations of tropical instability waves (TIWs) in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. SST signatures of TIWs in the Pacific Ocean are strongest during the cold phase of ENSO, when the cold tongue is most pronounced. The waves are weak during the warm phase of ENSO. A low-frequency Atlantic air-sea coupled equatorial mode affects TIW activity in the Atlantic in a similar fashion. Interannual variations in sea-surface temperatures due to TIW activity can produce interannual variations in the atmospheric mesoscale response.

Received 16 February 2007; accepted 3 April 2007; published 3 May 2007.

Keywords: tropical instability wave; ENSO; interannual variability.

Index Terms: 4215 Oceanography: General: Climate and interannual variability (1616, 1635, 3305, 3309, 4513); 4231 Oceanography: General: Equatorial oceanography; 4504 Oceanography: Physical: Air/sea interactions (0312, 3339); 4512 Oceanography: Physical: Currents; 4522 Oceanography: Physical: ENSO (4922).

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Citation: Wu, Q., and K. P. Bowman (2007), Interannual variations of tropical instability waves observed by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission, Geophys. Res. Lett., 34, L09701, doi:10.1029/2007GL029719.