Extratropical forcing of tropical wave disturbances along the Indian Ocean ITCZ

Abstract

The role of extratropical waves in the excitation of tropical waves on submonthly timescales is explored along the Indian Ocean Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) during the austral summer using Japanese Reanalysis products and NOAA outgoing longwave radiation data. The analysis period is DecemberŰFebruary of 1979/1980 to 2008/2009. The submonthly tropical waves are regarded as a type of Rossby wave propagating along the mean monsoon westerly flow. They play an important role in modulating the Indian Ocean ITCZ convection. The linkage between the tropical and extratropical waves, which is responsible for the formation and strengthening of tropical waves, is examined. Composite analysis results linked to the tropical wave train development show that the midlatitude Rossby wave train progresses eastward and northeastward from the South Atlantic into the subtropical Indian Ocean. As a trough and ridge that form part of the midlatitude wave train approach the southern Africa‐southwest Indian Ocean (SWIO) region, a southwest‐northeast‐oriented wave train is subsequently established, originating from this feature, and is strengthened across the tropical Indian Ocean. The midlatitude wave propagation toward the subtropics induces the growth of the trough and ridge over the SWIO. Wave activity flux diagnostics indicate that the amplified trough and ridge over the SWIO act as an energy source for northeastward amplification of the tropical waves through the wave energy dispersion process. The results suggest that the propagation of the midlatitude wave toward the SWIO is the fundamental mechanism behind the development of the tropical waves along the Indian Ocean ITCZ.