Large-Scale and Long-Term Fluctuations in Some Atmospheric and Oceanic Variables,

Abstract

When meteorological variables are averaged over periods of days, weeks, months, seasons, years or decades and the averages plotted on charts, a special class of macroscale phenomena come to light. Whatever the period of averaging, there are significant departures from longer term means such as climatological normals. The eternally anomalous character of components of the atmosphere's general circulation provides mechanisms for altering the thermal characteristics of the upper layer of the ocean. These alterations, in turn, appear to force abnormalities of wind, weather, and temperature patterns in the overlying atmosphere, largely through variable heating. This paper describes the nature of these atmospheric and oceanic anomalies mainly from observations gathered in the last quarter century, and it suggests some causal linkages. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1972
Accession Number
AD0744976

Entities

People

  • Jerome Namias

Organizations

  • Scripps Institution of Oceanography

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Abnormalities
  • Acquisition
  • Atmospheres
  • Behavior And Behavior Mechanisms
  • Observation
  • Personality

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Atmospheric Science/Meteorology
  • Ocean-Atmosphere Mesoscale Modeling, Data Assimilation, and Flux Boundary Layers
  • Theoretical Analysis.