Advertisement
GET OUR E-ALERTS
No access
Research Article

Global Observations of Oceanic Rossby Waves

Dudley B. Chelton and Michael G. SchlaxAuthors Info & Affiliations
Science
12 Apr 1996
Vol 272, Issue 5259
pp. 234-238
DOI: 10.1126/science.272.5259.234
CHECK ACCESS

Abstract

Rossby waves play a critical role in the transient adjustment of ocean circulation to changes in large-scale atmospheric forcing. The TOPEX/POSEIDON satellite altimeter has detected Rossby waves throughout much of the world ocean from sea level signals with ≲10-centimeter amplitude and ≳500-kilometer wavelength. Outside of the tropics, Rossby waves are abruptly amplified by major topographic features. Analysis of 3 years of data reveals discrepancies between observed and theoretical Rossby wave phase speeds that indicate that the standard theory for free, linear Rossby waves is an incomplete description of the observed waves.

Get full access to this article

View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.

CHECK ACCESS

References

1
ANDERSON DLT, NONLINEAR PROPAGATION OF LONG ROSSBY WAVES, DEEP-SEA RESEARCH PART A-OCEANOGRAPHIC RESEARCH PAPERS 26, 1033 (1979).
Google Scholar
2
ANDERSON DLT, SPIN-UP OF A STRATIFIED OCEAN, WITH APPLICATIONS TO UPWELLING, DEEP-SEA RESEARCH 22, 583 (1975).
Google Scholar
3
ANDERSON DLT, TRANSIENT-RESPONSE OF THE NORTH-ATLANTIC - SOME MODEL STUDIES, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-OCEANS AND ATMOSPHERES 84, 4795 (1979).
Google Scholar
4
AOKI S, BAROCLINIC DISTURBANCES PROPAGATING WESTWARD IN THE KUROSHIO EXTENSION REGION AS SEEN BY A SATELLITE ALTIMETER AND RADIOMETERS, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-OCEANS 100, 839 (1995).
Google Scholar
5
BARNETT T.P., ON ENSO PHYSICS, JOURNAL OF CLIMATE 4, 487 (1991).
Google Scholar
6
BARNIER B, A NUMERICAL STUDY ON THE INFLUENCE OF THE MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE ON NONLINEAR 1ST-MODE BAROCLINIC ROSSBY WAVES GENERATED BY SEASONAL WINDS, JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY 18, 417 (1988).
Google Scholar
7
BATTISTI D.S., UNDERSTANDING AND PREDICTING ENSO, REVIEWS OF GEOPHYSICS 33, 1367 (1995).
Google Scholar
8
BOULANGER J.P., Propagation and reflection of long equatorial waves in the Pacific Ocean during the 1992–1993 El Nino, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-OCEANS 100, 25041 (1995).
Google Scholar
9
BOULANGER J.P., unpublished data.
Google Scholar
10
CHELTON D.B., unpublished data.
Google Scholar
11
CLAERBOUT J.F., IMAGING EARTHS INTER (1985).
Google Scholar
12
DELCROIX T, GEOSAT-DERIVED SEA-LEVEL AND SURFACE CURRENT ANOMALIES IN THE EQUATORIAL PACIFIC DURING THE 1986–1989 EL-NINO AND LA-NINA, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-OCEANS 99, 25093 (1994).
Google Scholar
13
DELCROIX T, EQUATORIAL KELVIN AND ROSSBY WAVES EVIDENCED IN THE PACIFIC-OCEAN THROUGH GEOSAT SEA-LEVEL AND SURFACE CURRENT ANOMALIES, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-OCEANS 96, 3249 (1991).
Google Scholar
14
DOUGLAS B.C., GEOSAT - BEGINNING A NEW ERA IN SATELLITE OCEANOGRAPHY, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-OCEANS 95, 2833 (1990).
Google Scholar
15
DUKOWICZ J.K., IMPLICIT FREE-SURFACE METHOD FOR THE BRYAN-COX-SEMTNER OCEAN MODEL, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-OCEANS 99, 7991 (1994).
Google Scholar
16
EMERY W.J., GEOGRAPHIC AND SEASONAL DISTRIBUTIONS OF BRUNT-VAISALA FREQUENCY AND ROSSBY RADII IN THE NORTH PACIFIC AND NORTH-ATLANTIC, JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY 14, 294 (1984).
Google Scholar
17
FU L.L., TOPEX/POSEIDON MISSION OVERVIEW, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-OCEANS 99, 24369 (1994).
Google Scholar
18
FU L.L., OCEANOGRAPHY 1, 4 (1988).
Google Scholar
19
FU L.L., APPLICATION OF SATELLITE ALTIMETRY TO OCEAN CIRCULATION STUDIES - 1987–1994, REVIEWS OF GEOPHYSICS 33, 213 (1995).
Google Scholar
20
GERDES R, SEASONAL VARIABILITY OF THE NORTH-ATLANTIC OCEAN - A MODEL INTERCOMPARISON, JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY 21, 1300 (1991).
Google Scholar
21
GILL A.E., ATMOSPHERE OCEAN DYN (1982).
Google Scholar
22
HOURY S, BRUNT-VAISALA FREQUENCY AND ROSSBY RADII IN THE SOUTH-ATLANTIC, JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY 17, 1619 (1987).
Google Scholar
23
HURLBURT H.E., NUMERICAL-SIMULATION OF ONSET OF EL NINO, JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY 6, 621 (1976).
Google Scholar
24
JACOBS G.A., THE GLOBAL STRUCTURE OF THE ANNUAL AND SEMIANNUAL SEA-SURFACE HEIGHT VARIABILITY FROM GEOSAT ALTIMETER DATA, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-OCEANS 97, 17813 (1992).
Google Scholar
25
JACOBS G.A., DECADE-SCALE TRANS-PACIFIC PROPAGATION AND WARMING EFFECTS OF AN EL-NINO ANOMALY, NATURE 370, 360 (1994).
Google Scholar
26
JAIN A.K., FUNDAMENTALS DIGITAL (1989).
Google Scholar
27
KESSLER W.S., OCEANIC EQUATORIAL WAVES AND THE 1991–93 EL-NINO, JOURNAL OF CLIMATE 8, 1757 (1995).
Google Scholar
28
KESSLER W.S., FORCING OF INTRASEASONAL KELVIN WAVES IN THE EQUATORIAL PACIFIC, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-OCEANS 100, 10613 (1995).
Google Scholar
29
KESSLER W.S., OBSERVATIONS OF LONG ROSSBY WAVES IN THE NORTHERN TROPICAL PACIFIC, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-OCEANS 95, 5183 (1990).
Google Scholar
30
LEBLOND P.H., WAVES OCEAN (1978).
Google Scholar
31
LETRAON P.Y., SEA-LEVEL VARIABILITY AND SEMIANNUAL ROSSBY WAVES IN THE SOUTH-ATLANTIC SUBTROPICAL GYRE, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-OCEANS 98, 12315 (1993).
Google Scholar
32
MATTHEWS P.E., OBSERVATION OF MESOSCALE OCEAN FEATURES IN THE NORTHEAST PACIFIC USING GEOSAT RADAR ALTIMETRY DATA, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-OCEANS 97, 17829 (1992).
Google Scholar
33
MCCREARY J, EASTERN TROPICAL OCEAN RESPONSE TO CHANGING WIND SYSTEMS - WITH APPLICATION TO EL NINO, JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY 6, 632 (1976).
Google Scholar
34
MEYERS G, J PHYS OCEANOGR 9, 664 (1979).
Google Scholar
35
NEELIN J.D., DYNAMICS OF COUPLED OCEAN-ATMOSPHERE MODELS - THE TROPICAL PROBLEM, ANNUAL REVIEW OF FLUID MECHANICS 26, 617 (1994).
Google Scholar
36
PARKE M.E., ON THE CHOICE OF ORBITS FOR AN ALTIMETRIC SATELLITE TO STUDY OCEAN CIRCULATION AND TIDES, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-OCEANS 92, 11693 (1987).
Google Scholar
37
PERIGAUD C, ANNUAL SEA-LEVEL VARIATIONS IN THE SOUTHERN TROPICAL INDIAN-OCEAN FROM GEOSAT AND SHALLOW-WATER SIMULATIONS, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-OCEANS 97, 20169 (1992).
Google Scholar
38
PHILANDER S.G., NINO NINA SO OSCILLA (1990).
Google Scholar
39
PLATZMAN G.W., ROSSBY WAVE, QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY 94, 225 (1968).
Google Scholar
40
RHINES P.B., SLOW OSCILLATIONS IN AN OCEAN OF VARYING DEPTH .1. ABRUPT TOPOGRAPHY, JOURNAL OF FLUID MECHANICS 37, 161 (1969).
Google Scholar
41
ROSSBY C.G., Relation between variations in the intensity of the zonal circulation of the atmosphere and the displacements of the semipermanent centers of action, JOURNAL OF MARINE RESEARCH 2, 38 (1939).
Google Scholar
42
ROSSBY C.G., Q J R METEOROL SOC 66, 66 (1940).
Google Scholar
43
SCHLAX M.G., DETECTING ALIASED TIDAL ERRORS IN ALTIMETER HEIGHT MEASUREMENTS, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-OCEANS 99, 12603 (1994).
Google Scholar
44
SCHLAX M.G., ALIASED TIDAL ERRORS IN TOPEX/POSEIDON SEA-SURFACE HEIGHT DATA, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-OCEANS 99, 24761 (1994).
Google Scholar
45
SEMTNER A.J., MODELING OCEAN CIRCULATION, SCIENCE 269, 1379 (1995).
Crossref
Google Scholar
46
TOKMAKIAN R.T., OBSERVATIONS IN THE CANARY BASIN AND THE AZORES FRONTAL REGION USING GEOSAT DATA, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-OCEANS 98, 4761 (1993).
Google Scholar
47
TRENBERTH K.E., The 1990–1995 El Nino Southern Oscillation event: Longest on record, GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS 23, 57 (1996).
Google Scholar
48
VANWOERT M.L., GEOSAT AND ADVANCED VERY HIGH-RESOLUTION RADIOMETER OBSERVATIONS OF OCEANIC PLANETARY-WAVES ADJACENT TO THE HAWAIIAN-ISLANDS, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-OCEANS 98, 14619 (1993).
Google Scholar
49
WHITE W.B., ANNUAL FORCING OF BAROCLINIC LONG WAVES IN TROPICAL NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN, JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY 7, 50 (1977).
Google Scholar
50
WHITE W.B., THE RESONANT RESPONSE OF INTERANNUAL BAROCLINIC ROSSBY WAVES TO WIND FORCING IN THE EASTERN MIDLATITUDE NORTH PACIFIC, JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY 15, 403 (1985).
Google Scholar

(0)eLetters

eLetters is a forum for ongoing peer review. eLetters are not edited, proofread, or indexed, but they are screened. eLetters should provide substantive and scholarly commentary on the article. Embedded figures cannot be submitted, and we discourage the use of figures within eLetters in general. If a figure is essential, please include a link to the figure within the text of the eLetter. Please read our Terms of Service before submitting an eLetter.

Log In to Submit a Response

No eLetters have been published for this article yet.

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Science
Volume 272 | Issue 5259
12 April 1996

Copyright

© 1996 American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Submission history

Published in print: 12 April 1996

Permissions

Request permissions for this article.

Authors

Affiliations

Dudley B. Chelton*
The authors are at the College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331-5503, USA.
View all articles by this author
Michael G. Schlax
The authors are at the College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331-5503, USA.
View all articles by this author

Notes

*
To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Metrics & Citations

Metrics

Article Usage

Note: The article usage is presented with a three- to four-day delay and will update daily once available. Due to this delay, usage data will not appear immediately following publication.

Citation information is sourced from Crossref Cited-by service.

Altmetrics

Citations

Cite as

  • Dudley B. Chelton,
  • Michael G. Schlax
,
Global Observations of Oceanic Rossby Waves.Science272,234-238(1996).DOI:10.1126/science.272.5259.234

Export citation

Select the format you want to export the citation of this publication.

Cited by

    • Dudley B. Chelton,
    • Peter Gaube,
    • Michael G. Schlax,
    • Jeffrey J. Early,
    • Roger M. Samelson,
    The Influence of Nonlinear Mesoscale Eddies on Near-Surface Oceanic Chlorophyll, Science, 334, 6054, (328-332), (2021)./doi/10.1126/science.1208897
    Abstract
    • Peter D. Killworth,
    Comment on "Oceanic Rossby Waves Acting As a `Hay Rake' for Ecosystem Floating By-Products", Science, 304, 5669, (390-390), (2021)./doi/10.1126/science.1094870
    Abstract
    • Christopher C. Finlay,
    • Andrew Jackson,
    Equatorially Dominated Magnetic Field Change at the Surface of Earth's Core, Science, 300, 5628, (2084-2086), (2021)./doi/10.1126/science.1083324
    Abstract

Citation information is sourced from Crossref Cited-by service.

View Options

Check Access

Log in to view the full text

AAAS ID LOGIN

AAAS login provides access to Science for AAAS Members, and access to other journals in the Science family to users who have purchased individual subscriptions.

Log in via OpenAthens.
via OpenAthens
Log in via Shibboleth.
via Shibboleth

More options

Purchase digital access to this article

Download and print this article for your personal scholarly, research, and educational use.

Purchase this issue in print

Buy a single issue of Science for just $15 USD.

View options

PDF format

Download this article as a PDF file

Download PDF

Media

Figures

Multimedia

Tables

Share

Share

Share article link

Share on social media