Annual cycle of sea surface temperature in the tropical Atlantic Ocean
Open accessAbstract
The strongest temporal variation of sea surface temperature (SST) in the Atlantic occurs at the annual period. In this paper we examine the causes of the annual cycle of SST through a series of modeling studies. In the subtropics we find that the annual cycle of SST follows the annual cycle of net shortwave radiation, except near the eastern boundary. Off northwest Africa, the annual cycle results from coastal upwelling induced by annual variations in alongshore winds. Off southwest Africa, the annual cycle results from a combination of coastal upwelling and effects caused by changes in the trade winds along the equator. In the band of latitudes between 3°N and 10°N, changes in latent heat loss due to the annual variation in wind speed is most important. The dominance of latent heat loss in this region explains why SST reaches a maximum in boreal fall even though the depth of the thermocline is at its annual minimum.
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Carton and Zhou ocean model sensitivity experiments show that air-sea flux and wind stress forcing are of comparable importance away from the continent, whereas within a few degrees of the African coasts the meridional stress becomes the main forcing.
“Carton and Zhou [20] ocean model sensitivity experiments show that air-sea flux and wind stress forcing are of comparable importance away from the continent, whereas within a few degrees of the African coasts, the meridional stress becomes the main forcing.”
From A model study of the seasonality of sea surface temperature and circulation in the Atlantic North-eastern Tropical Upwelling System (2015) · cites this paper as [20]
Near the continent, the results support the preliminary model study by Carton and Zhou [20] pointing out to the leading role of wind-driven coastal upwelling dynamics for the SST cycle from 10 to 20°N.
“Near the continent, our results support the preliminary model study by Carton and Zhou [20] pointing out to the leading role of wind-driven coastal upwelling dynamics for the SST cycle from 10 to 20 • N.”
From A model study of the seasonality of sea surface temperature and circulation in the Atlantic North-eastern Tropical Upwelling System (2015) · cites this paper as Carton and Zhou [20]
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- Authors
- Carton, J. A., & Zhou, Z.
- ORCID
- Carton, James A.
- Venue
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans
- Publisher
- American Geophysical Union (AGU)
- Published
- 1997-12-15
- Volume
- 102
- Issue
- C13
- Pages
- 27813-27824
- ISSN
- 0148-0227 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2038212364
- Cited by
- 86
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 6
- FWCI
- 0.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Oceanography › Oceanographic and Atmospheric Processes
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Climate variability and models
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Atmospheric Science › Meteorological Phenomena and Simulations
- Keywords
- tropical Atlantic, net shortwave radiation, coastal upwelling, alongshore winds, trade winds, latent heat loss, wind speed variation, thermocline depth, eastern boundary upwelling
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