Spatial and temporal variability of lower-tropospheric flow over the East Pacific cold tongue

More than 4 years worth of high-resolution profiler observations of lower tropospheric winds over San Cristóbal in Ecuador's Galápagos Islands have been collected and analyzed. The dates for which data are available include much of the 1997-98 El Niño and the subsequent La Niña. A detailed picture of the lower troposphere's annual cycle over this portion of the East Pacific cold tongue and its interaction with the larger-scale ocean-atmosphere environment will be presented, together with a look at the dramatic changes in the flow over the cold tongue during the 97-98 warm event. Large-scale influences on the daily cycle of Galápagos winds will be discussed. The Galápagos profiler soundings will also be compared to numerous balloon soundings collected during 5 different ship transects along 95°W; the thermodynamic soundings assist in the interpretation of the wind profiles, while the more nearly continuous profiler observations help fit the balloon soundings into the larger context.