Assessing model representations of stratospheric equatorial waves

Abstract

Some westward‐propagating Rossby‐gravity waves and eastward Kelvin waves can travel up through the atmosphere following their formation in the tropical troposphere. Once they reach the stratosphere, these waves dissipate, releasing their energy. Known as stratospheric equatorial waves, these Rossby‐gravity and Kelvin waves are an important aspect driving the quasi‐biennial oscillation (QBO), a roughly monthly reversal, in the direction of the equatorial stratospheric winds. Similar to other atmospheric systems, such as the El Niño–Southern Oscillation or the North Atlantic Oscillation, the phase of the QBO affects global weather patterns, particularly in North America and western Europe.