Equatorial waves are oceanic and atmospheric waves trapped close to the equator, meaning that they decay rapidly away from the equator, but can propagate in the longitudinal and vertical directions.[1] Wave trapping is the result of the Earth's rotation and its spherical shape which combine to cause the magnitude of the Coriolis force to increase rapidly away from the equator. Equatorial waves are present in both the tropical atmosphere and ocean and play an important role in the evolution of many climate phenomena such as El Niño. Many physical processes may excite equatorial waves including, in the case of the atmosphere, diabatic heat release associated with cloud formation, and in the case of the ocean, anomalous changes in the strength or direction of the trade winds.[1]
Equatorial waves may be separated into a series of subclasses depending on their fundamental dynamics (which also influences their typical periods and speeds and directions of propagation). At shortest periods are the equatorial gravity waves while the longest periods are associated with the equatorial Rossby waves. In addition to these two extreme subclasses, there are two special subclasses of equatorial waves known as the mixed Rossby-gravity wave (also known as the Yanai wave) and the equatorial Kelvin wave. The latter two share the characteristics that they can have any period and also that they may carry energy only in an eastward (never westward) direction.
The remainder of this article discusses the relationship between the period of these waves, their wavelength in the zonal (east-west) direction and their speeds for a simplified ocean.
^ abHolton, James R., 2004: An Introduction to Dynamic Meteorology. Elsevier Academic Press, Burlington, MA, pp. 394–400.
Equatorialwaves are oceanic and atmospheric waves trapped close to the equator, meaning that they decay rapidly away from the equator, but can propagate...
develop the coastal Kelvin wave solution (U-momentum, V-momentum, and continuity equations). Because these waves are equatorial, the Coriolis parameter vanishes...
Equatorial Rossby waves, often called planetary waves, are very long, low frequency water waves found near the equator and are derived using the equatorial...
The Equatorial Counter Current is an eastward flowing, wind-driven current which extends to depths of 100–150 metres (330–490 ft) in the Atlantic, Indian...
The wave base, in physical oceanography, is the maximum depth at which a water wave's passage causes significant water motion. At water depths deeper...
seasonally. When it lies near the geographic Equator, it is called the near-equatorial trough. Where the ITCZ is drawn into and merges with a monsoonal circulation...
areas of cloudiness and thunderstorms. Tropical waves form in the easterly flow along the equatorial side of the subtropical ridge or belt of high air...
Wind wave systems influence oceanic heat exchange, the condition of the sea surface, and can alter ocean currents. In the North Atlantic, equatorial Pacific...
There are two types, coastal and equatorial. Kelvin waves are gravity driven and non-dispersive. This means that Kelvin waves can retain their shape and direction...
The equatorial electrojet (EEJ) is a narrow ribbon of current flowing eastward in the day time equatorial region of the Earth's ionosphere. The abnormally...
effects on the sky over several years. They labelled the phenomenon the "equatorial smoke stream". In the 1920s Japanese meteorologist Wasaburo Oishi detected...
The History of Equatorial Guinea is marked by centuries of colonial domination by the Portuguese, British and Spanish colonial empires, and by the local...
doi:10.1016/j.pocean.2006.03.010. R. Legeckis (1977). "Long waves in the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean: a view from a geostationary satellite". Science...
Telecommunications in Equatorial Guinea include radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the Internet. Radio stations: 1 state-owned radio station...
Inertial waves, also known as inertial oscillations, are a type of mechanical wave possible in rotating fluids. Unlike surface gravity waves commonly...
UTC on 3 April 2021; its genesis was related to convectively coupled equatorialwaves. The tropical low moved very slowly near the island, while the system's...
ramp above the fair weather wave base, the middle ramp, above the storm wave base, the outer ramp, below the storm wave base. In distally steepened ramps...
with geographical location (polar, auroral zones, mid-latitudes, and equatorial regions). There are also mechanisms that disturb the ionosphere and decrease...
195–262. 2019: Equatorialwave-current interactions (with R. I. Ivanov), Comm. Math. Phys. 370 1–48. 2022: On the propagation of nonlinear waves in the atmosphere...
Earth's) equatorial plane. The Moon's orbital plane is inclined by about 5.1° with respect to the ecliptic plane, whereas Earth's equatorial plane is...
Global Information