Dynamic Ocean-Atmosphere Coupling: A Thermostat for the Tropics

The ocean currents connecting the western tropical Pacific Ocean with the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean are driven by surface winds. The surface winds are in turn driven by the sea-surface temperature (SST) differences between these two regions. This dynamic coupling between the atmosphere and ocea...

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Veröffentlicht in:	Science 1996-05, Vol.272 (5265), p.1148-1150
Hauptverfasser:	Sun, De-Zheng, Liu, Zhengyu
Format:	Artikel
Sprache:	eng
Schlagworte:	AMBIENT TEMPERATURE Atmosphere ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATION Climate CLIMATE MODELS Clouds Earth, ocean, space ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES Exact sciences and technology External geophysics Heat Ocean circulation models Ocean currents Ocean temperature Ocean-atmosphere interaction OCEANIC CIRCULATION Oceans Physics of the oceans Sea-air exchange processes Surface temperature Temperature Thermodynamic equilibrium Tropical climates TROPICAL REGIONS Water Water vapor
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Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:	The ocean currents connecting the western tropical Pacific Ocean with the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean are driven by surface winds. The surface winds are in turn driven by the sea-surface temperature (SST) differences between these two regions. This dynamic coupling between the atmosphere and ocean may limit the SST in the tropical Pacific Ocean to below 305 kelvin even in the absence of cloud feedbacks.
ISSN:	0036-8075 1095-9203
DOI:	10.1126/science.272.5265.1148