Climatic teleconnections with the equatorial pacific and the role of ocean/atmosphere coupling

Abstract

Starting from the occurrence of a zonal Walker circulation supplementing the meridional Hadley cell, the concept of ultralong waves with diagonal upper troughs extending far into the Tropics is stressed. The model of equatorial upwelling with air‐sea coupling is critically discussed and a modification proposed. An intensification of the subtropical jet at the peak of the 1972 El Niño (as suggested by Rowntree's model calculations) has been verified. Empirical studies deal with the large interannual and interdecadal variations of the energy fluxes at the air‐sea interface; time variations of the oceanic evaporation and sensible heat flux are greater than expected. Using spectrum analysis, the occurrence of a 5‐year periodicity in equatorial rainfall of the Pacific and Indonesia is demonstrated, together with a marked phase shift along the NE coast of New Guinea.