The Superposition of Eastward and Westward Rossby Waves in Response to Localized Forcing

Abstract:

Rossby waves are a principal form of atmospheric communication between disparate parts of the climate system. These planetary waves are typically excited by diabatic or orographic forcing and can be subject to considerable downstream modification. Due to differences in wave properties, including vertical structure, phase speed and group velocity, Rossby waves exhibit a wide range of behaviors. Here we demonstrate the combined effects of eastward propagating stationary barotropic Rossby waves and westward propagating very low zonal wavenumber stationary barotropic Rossby waves on the atmospheric response to wintertime El Niño convective forcing over the tropical Pacific. Experiments are conducted using the Community Atmospheric Model 4.0 in which both diabatic forcing over the Pacific and localized relaxation outside the forcing region are applied. The localized relaxation is used to dampen Rossby wave propagation to either the west or east of the forcing region and isolate the alternate direction signal. Wave responses match theoretical expectations and clarify that observed downstream stationary responses to diabatic forcing result from the superposition of planetary wave signals emanating in alternate directions.