WOCE-SAC: Tropical Atlantic Pseudostress and SST Analyses

Details of the data processing methods to calculate the monthly pseudostress wind fields can be found in Picaut et al., 1985, Servain et al., 1985a, 1985b and 1987.

Briefly summarized, this method is based on a combination of objective and subjective analysis. The data are first averaged in 2°latitude by 5°longitude boxes. All the individual values statistically unrealistic with in these boxes are then discarded, corrected or kept according to the result of a climatalogical test and a consistency test with values of the surrounding boxes. This procedure prevents rejecting dramatic abnormal events. Then, an objective analysis method of the successive-correction type (Cressman, 1959) is used to create a 2°x2° gridded monthly data field without gaps.

Pseudostress and SST data for 1964-2001 are available, as are plots of the data. The most up-to-date analyses are also available.

Picaut, J., Servain, J., Lecomte, P., Seva, M., Lukas, S. and Rougier, G., 1985: Climatic Atlas of the Tropical Atlantic Wind Stress and Sea Surface Temperature: 1964-1979. Universite de Bretagne Occidentale, Brest, France, University of Hawaii, HI, USA, 467 pp.

Servain, J., Picaut, J., LeComte, P. and Seva, M., 1985a: A 16 year Series of Observations of Sea Surface Temperature and Wind Stress Field in the Tropical Atlantic. UNESCO, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, Technical Series, Time Series of Ocean Measurements, Volume 2, 30, 29-32.

Servain, J., Picaut, J., and Busalacchi, A.J., 1985b: Inter annual and Seasonal Variability of the Tropical Atlantic Ocean Depicted by Sixteen Years of Sea Surface Temperature and Wind Stress. Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Models, J.C.J. Nihoul Ed., Elsevier Ed., 211-237.

Servain, J., Seva, M., Lukas, S. and Rougier, G. 1987: Climatic Atlas of the Tropical Atlantic Wind Stress and Sea Surface Temperature: 1980-1984. Ocean Air Inter. J., 1, 109-182.

Last Modified: Wed, 30 Jan 2002

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