Chimeric equatorial waves as a better descriptor for "convectively-coupled equatorial waves"

Abstract

The term "convectively-coupled Kelvin waves" is misleading. That is because these waves have Rossby-wave components, comparable to their Kelvin-wave components and, in fact, bear a close resemblance to the Gill solution with a moving heating source. A better alternative would be to call these waves chimeric Kelvin waves, to signify their combined nature and the fact that they are implicitly convectively-coupled. By extension, chimeric Rossby waves and chimeric mixed Rossby-gravity waves would be better alternatives to "convectively-coupled Rossby waves" and "convectively-coupled mixed Rossby-gravity waves," respectively. Collectively, these waves can be called chimeric equatorial waves. Recognizing the above misleading terms can help avoid confusion. © 2007, Meteorological Society of Japan.