ON THE INSTABILITY OF TROPICAL WESTERN PACIFIC WARM POOL DURING THE BOREAL WINTER AND SPRING
A source of instability in the western Pacific warm pool is shown to be due to sea surface elevation variations caused by changes in the zonal sea-surface temperature (SST) gradient and the changes in the Pacific Ocean basin length in relation to the warm pool latitudinal location. The variation of the sea-surface elevation is measured by using the thermocline depth response calculated from a two-layer ocean. The warm pool is shown to be barely at equilibrium during the boreal late winter and early spring by comparing the measured thermocline at 110{degree}W, 0{degree}E with the calculated thermocline depth. Based on this analysis, a failure or reversal of the climatological zonal winds are apparently not a necessary precursor for the instability of the warm pool and initiation of a warm event. A warm event can be initiated by an increase in the size of the warm pool and/or an increase in zonal SST differences during the boreal/winter spring. This mechanism could be an alternate mechanism for El-Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) dynamics to that postulated by Bjeknes (1969).
- Research Organization:
- Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Research (ER) (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-98CH10886
- OSTI ID:
- 755023
- Report Number(s):
- BNL-66878; KP120103; R&D Project: WFO-A/R-PNL; KP120103; TRN: AH200034%%197
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 8TH ANNUAL ATMOSPHERIC RADIATION MEASUREMENT (ARM) PROGRAM SCIENCE TEAM MEETING, TUCSON, AZ (US), 03/23/1998--03/27/1998; Other Information: PBD: 23 Mar 1998
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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