ALBERT

Description: A new objective time series of in situ–based monthly surface winds has been developed as a replacement for the subjective tropical Pacific Florida State University (FSU) winds. The new time series begins in January 1978, and it is ongoing. The objective method distinguishes between observations from volunteer observing ships (VOSs) and buoys, allowing different weights for these different types of observations. An objective method is used to determine these weights and accounts for the differences in error characteristics and in spatial/temporal sampling. A comparison is made between the objective and subjective products, as well as scatterometer winds averaged monthly on the same grid. The scatterometer fields are a good proxy for truth. These three sets of fields have similar magnitudes, directions, and derivative fields. Both in situ wind products underestimate convergence about the intertropical convergence zone; however, the objective FSU product is a much better match to the scatterometer observations. Furthermore, the objective winds have smaller month-to-month variation than the subjective winds. Composites of ENSO phases are also examined and show minor differences between the subjective and objective wind products. The strengths and weaknesses of the objective and subjective winds are discussed.

Description: The low-level seasonal and intraseasonal wind variability over the northeastern tropical Pacific (NETP), its relationship with other variables, and the connection with large- and middle-scale atmospheric patterns are analyzed using a suite of datasets. Quick Scatterometer (QuikSCAT) wind data show that the low-level circulation over the NETP is mainly affected by the northerly trades, the southerly trades, and the wind jets crossing through the Tehuantepec, Papagayo, and Panama mountain gaps. The seasonal and intraseasonal evolution of these wind systems determines the circulation patterns over the NETP, showing predominant easterly winds in winter and early spring and wind direction reversals in summer over the central region of the NETP. During summer, when southerly trades are the strongest and reach their maximum northward penetration, weak westerlies are observed in June, easterlies in July–August, despite that strong southerlies tend to turn eastward, and again westerlies in September–October. This circulation pattern appears to be related to the Tehuantepec and Papagayo jets, which slightly strengthen during midsummer favored by the westward elongation and intensification of the Azores–Bermuda high (ABH). This ABH evolution induces an across-gap pressure gradient over the Isthmus of Tehuantepec favoring the generation of the jet and a meridional sea level pressure (SLP) gradient in the western Caribbean that favors the funneling of the trade winds through the Papagayo gap. The SLP pattern causing the gap winds in winter is different than in midsummer, being the southeastward intrusion of high pressure systems coming from the northwest, the main cause of the large meridional SLP gradients in Tehuantepec and the western Caribbean. The westward low-level circulation observed over the central-eastern region of the NETP during midsummer induces westward moisture fluxes in the lower layers of the atmosphere, displaces convergence areas away from the coasts, and confines the relatively strong convergence in the easternmost NETP to the south of the area of influence of the wind jets and associated easterlies, contributing to the development of the midsummer drought observed in southern Mexico and Central America.

Description: The wind-induced circulation over laterally varying bathymetry was investigated in homogeneous systems using the three-dimensional Regional Ocean Model System (ROMS). The investigation focused on the influence of the earth’s rotation on the lateral distribution of the flow, with particular emphasis on the transverse circulation. Along-basin wind stress with no rotation caused a circulation dominated by an axially symmetric transverse structure consisting of downwind flow over the shoals and upwind flow in the channel along the whole domain. Transverse circulation was important only at the head of the system where the water sank and reversed direction to move toward the mouth. The wind-induced flow pattern under the effects of the earth’s rotation depended on the ratio of the maximum basin’s depth h to the Ekman depth d. The solution tended to that described in a nonrotating system as h/d remained equal to or below 1. For higher values of h/d, the longitudinal flow was axially asymmetric. Maximum downwind flow was located over the right shoal (in the Northern Hemisphere, looking downwind). The transverse component of velocity described three gyres. The main gyre was clockwise (looking downwind) and occupied the entire basin cross section, as expected from the earth’s rotation and the presence of channel walls. The other two gyres were small and localized and were linked to the lateral distribution of the along-channel velocity component, which in turn was dictated by bathymetry. These results compared favorably with a limited set of observations and are expected to motivate future measurements.