Statistical look at air-sea interaction in the North Pacific
This report examines the nature of sea surface temperature (SST) and atmospheric geopotential height patterns in the central North Pacific Ocean. Empirical orthogonal functions (EOFs) are developed for 5-day mean patterns of SST, 500 mb heights, 850 mb heights and 850/500 mb thicknesses from nearly 14 years of data. The effect of the mean annual cycle in these data is also examined. EOFs are developed for both individual data sets and for combinations of SST data with the atmospheric data. By comparing the time series for principal components of each data set, we identify patterns in SST and atmospheric data which may be indicative of air/sea interaction. Most of the deduced relationships, from lag correlation studies, indicate that the atmosphere ''forces'' the ocean. However, during fall and winter, some SST patterns appeared to preclude atmospheric anomalies. Apparent air/sea interactions with interseasonal persistence were demonstrated. Regions of the oceanic fronts appeared to be sensitive to SST anomaly formation under the effect of certain atmospheric flow patterns. 31 refs., 43 figs., 4 tabs.
- Research Organization:
- Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins (USA). Dept. of Atmospheric Science
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-76EV01340
- OSTI ID:
- 6302021
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/EV/01340-14; ON: DE86004995
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Environmental Research Paper No. 39
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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