Equatorial atmospheric waves forced by latent heating

High resolution data of rainfall rate and infrared cloud top brightness temperature derived from TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission) and geostationary satellite observations have been used to construct estimates of latent heating and cloud-top height every 3 hours. This heating was then used to force a mechanistic primitive equation model in order to examine the wave response. We will present the taxonomy of the equatorial and gravity waves found in our model. Various zonal mean background states are used in the model to examine their effects on the wave propagation characteristics. The responses to individual prominent heating events are studied in order to determine how the observed wave types depend on the location and the spatial and temporal scales of the heat sources.