The Global Characteristics of the Wavenumber Spectrum of Ocean Surface Wind

The wavenumber spectra of wind kinetic energy over the ocean from Quick Scatterometer (QuikSCAT) observations have revealed complex spatial variability in the wavelength range of 1000–3000 km, with spectral slopes varying from −1.6 to −2.9. Here the authors performed a spectral analysis of QuikSCAT...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Xu, Yongsheng, Fu, Lee-Lueng, Tulloch, Ross
Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
Format: Article
Language:en_US
Published: American Meteorological Society 2012
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/70496
_version_ 1811091244350177280
author Xu, Yongsheng
Fu, Lee-Lueng
Tulloch, Ross
author2 Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
author_facet Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
Xu, Yongsheng
Fu, Lee-Lueng
Tulloch, Ross
author_sort Xu, Yongsheng
collection MIT
description The wavenumber spectra of wind kinetic energy over the ocean from Quick Scatterometer (QuikSCAT) observations have revealed complex spatial variability in the wavelength range of 1000–3000 km, with spectral slopes varying from −1.6 to −2.9. Here the authors performed a spectral analysis of QuikSCAT winds over the global ocean and found that (i) the spectral slopes become steeper toward the Poles in the Pacific and in the South Atlantic, and the slopes exhibit minimal longitudinal dependence in the South Pacific; (ii) the steepest slopes are in the tropical Indian Ocean and the shallowest slopes are in the tropical Pacific and Atlantic; and (iii) the spectra are steeper in winter than summer in most regions of the midlatitude Northern Hemisphere. The new findings reported in the paper provide a test bed for theoretical studies and atmospheric general circulation models.
first_indexed 2024-09-23T14:59:21Z
format Article
id mit-1721.1/70496
institution Massachusetts Institute of Technology
language en_US
last_indexed 2024-09-23T14:59:21Z
publishDate 2012
publisher American Meteorological Society
record_format dspace
spelling mit-1721.1/704962022-09-29T11:52:51Z The Global Characteristics of the Wavenumber Spectrum of Ocean Surface Wind Xu, Yongsheng Fu, Lee-Lueng Tulloch, Ross Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Tulloch, Ross Tulloch, Ross The wavenumber spectra of wind kinetic energy over the ocean from Quick Scatterometer (QuikSCAT) observations have revealed complex spatial variability in the wavelength range of 1000–3000 km, with spectral slopes varying from −1.6 to −2.9. Here the authors performed a spectral analysis of QuikSCAT winds over the global ocean and found that (i) the spectral slopes become steeper toward the Poles in the Pacific and in the South Atlantic, and the slopes exhibit minimal longitudinal dependence in the South Pacific; (ii) the steepest slopes are in the tropical Indian Ocean and the shallowest slopes are in the tropical Pacific and Atlantic; and (iii) the spectra are steeper in winter than summer in most regions of the midlatitude Northern Hemisphere. The new findings reported in the paper provide a test bed for theoretical studies and atmospheric general circulation models. United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration 2012-05-04T14:36:53Z 2012-05-04T14:36:53Z 2011-08 2011-05 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 0022-3670 1520-0485 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/70496 Xu, Yongsheng, Lee-Lueng Fu, and Ross Tulloch. “The Global Characteristics of the Wavenumber Spectrum of Ocean Surface Wind.” Journal of Physical Oceanography 41.8 (2011): 1576–1582. Web. © 2011 American Meteorological Society. en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jpo-d-11-059.1 Journal of Physical Oceanography Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. application/pdf American Meteorological Society American Meteorological Society
spellingShingle Xu, Yongsheng
Fu, Lee-Lueng
Tulloch, Ross
The Global Characteristics of the Wavenumber Spectrum of Ocean Surface Wind
title The Global Characteristics of the Wavenumber Spectrum of Ocean Surface Wind
title_full The Global Characteristics of the Wavenumber Spectrum of Ocean Surface Wind
title_fullStr The Global Characteristics of the Wavenumber Spectrum of Ocean Surface Wind
title_full_unstemmed The Global Characteristics of the Wavenumber Spectrum of Ocean Surface Wind
title_short The Global Characteristics of the Wavenumber Spectrum of Ocean Surface Wind
title_sort global characteristics of the wavenumber spectrum of ocean surface wind
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/70496
work_keys_str_mv AT xuyongsheng theglobalcharacteristicsofthewavenumberspectrumofoceansurfacewind
AT fuleelueng theglobalcharacteristicsofthewavenumberspectrumofoceansurfacewind
AT tullochross theglobalcharacteristicsofthewavenumberspectrumofoceansurfacewind
AT xuyongsheng globalcharacteristicsofthewavenumberspectrumofoceansurfacewind
AT fuleelueng globalcharacteristicsofthewavenumberspectrumofoceansurfacewind
AT tullochross globalcharacteristicsofthewavenumberspectrumofoceansurfacewind