Ocean Observing and Climate
OVAC Theme 1 - Theory of Planetary Waves
Our extended theory of Rossby waves provides an improved match to the observed speeds.
The observations above show that the observed waves propagate up to twice as fast as the standard theory predicts. We have modified the standard theory and now the observations and the new theory are in much better agreement (see figure above). This allows us to predict more accurately both the impact of the waves on currents, and the time that the ocean takes to respond to climatic events which generate planetary waves, such as El Niño in the Pacific.
Links to OVAC Theme 1 Research
North Atlantic Agulhas Current Model Investigations Planetary Waves Observations Planetary Waves Theories
