Indian Ocean Rossby waves detected in HYCOM sea surface salinity

Abstract

Rossby waves have been well identified in satellite derived sea surface height (SSH), sea surface temperature (SST) and ocean color observations. Studies of Rossby waves have yet to include sea surface salinity (SSS) as a parameter, largely because presently available in situ measurements of salinity lack sufficient spatial and temporal coverage, and as of now no methods are available for measuring salinity from a satellite. In this paper, we demonstrate that Rossby waves can be observed in SSS in the Indian Ocean by using simulations of the 1/12° global Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM). HYCOM results compared favorably to SSS data provided by Argo floats and the World Ocean Atlas 2005 (WOA05) in selected grid boxes in the Indian Ocean. Hovmöller diagrams of HYCOM SSS anomalies and gradient show the distinct westward propagating signature of Rossby waves, with a steeper slope in longitude/ time plots further from the equator. The propagation speeds, calculated from a 2D Radon Transform are comparable with new theoretical speeds for Rossby waves. Annual westward propagating signals in the SSS simulations at most of the latitudes in the Indian Ocean coincide with previous studies. We hope that future studies of Rossby waves in SSS using model results and eventually satellite measurements of salinity data will allow a better understanding of Rossby wave dynamics. Copyright 2008 by the American Geophysical Union.