Extended Abstract (56K)P6.24
Do multiple peaks in the Radon Transform of westward propagating sea surface height anomalies correspond to higher order Rossby wave Baroclinic modes?
Angela M. Maharaj, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia; and P. Cipollini and N. J. Holbrook
Radon Transform analysis has been used in a number of studies to objectively estimate the speed of planetary waves from altimeter data. The speed is calculated for the maximum peak in the Radon energy which is the signature of the dominant signal in the data. This study tests the hypothesis that multiple peaks in the Radon energy from westward propagating sea surface height anomalies may correspond to higher order Rossby wave baroclinic modes. The first three peaks of Radon energy in the South Pacific are compared against propagation estimates for the first four baroclinic modes in the presence of mean flow and topography calculated by Killworth and Blundell. The first peak generally falls between estimates for the first baroclinic mode propagation speed from linear and the modified theory. Results for the higher order mode speeds are more equivocal. The relationship between secondary peaks and the higher order speed estimates vary with latitude. While the second and third peaks fall within the range of modified theory estimates in the lower latitudes they are significantly faster in the high latitudes. Possible processes that might explain these differences are discussed
Poster Session 6, Climatology and Long-Term Studies
Wednesday, 22 September 2004, 2:30 PM-4:30 PM
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