Multiscale interaction between the ocean and the atmosphere and the low frequency variability

Author(s)

Enver Manuel Amador Ramirez Gutierrez

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto Astronômico e Geofísico (IAG/SBD)
• Defense date: 2011-12-19

Examining board members

Pedro Leite da Silva Dias; Tercio Ambrizzi; Jose Paulo Bonatti; Edmo Jose Dias Campos; Haroldo Fraga de Campos Velho

• Advisor: Pedro Leite da Silva Dias

Abstract

In the present work a multiscale method is used to study resonant nonlinear wave-wave interactions between the ocean and the atmosphere. A hierarchy of coupled atmosphere-ocean models is developed using typical scalings found in the tropical region with the aim to represent some of the dominant modes of climate variability (intraseasonal, interannual and decadal). The sources of nonlinearity included into model are of two types: I) intrinsic nonlinearity (advective form) and II) nonlinearity related to physical terms. A multi-scale perturbation method is applied to obtain equations governing dynamics of ressonant interactions. The solutions are described in terms of dominant and secular solutions. For the dominant modes basis functions of the linear problem are used in a approximation of the Galerkin type. The properties of the basis functions allows the analytical computation of the interaction coefficients associated with non-linear terms and the projection into the natural oscillation modes of the system (resonance). Using this method it is possible to obtain reduced models to determine the contributions of several processes to the slow time evolution of a specific mode of natural variability. To apply these concepts to the problem of atmosphere-ocean coupling an Ansatz composed of a three waves (two atmospheric Rossby and Kelvin waves and an ocean Kelvin wave) is used. The triad chosen represents a aproximation of several phenomena found in the tropical region, e.g. desenvolving of El Nino, interaction of the Madden-Julian oscillation with the ocean, interaction between El Nino and intra-seasonal variability, etc. It is shown that system allows a resonance involving atmospheric and oceanic waves and that the low-frequency modulation resulting from these ressonance can affect the system from fast equatorial synoptic scales to decadal timescales, including the intermediate scales i.e., intraseasonal and interannual. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 06/60488-3 - Multiscale interaction between ocean and atmosphere and variability of low frequency
• Grantee: Enver Manuel Amador Ramirez Gutierrez
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate