%0 Journal Article
%4 sid.inpe.br/mtc-m15@80/2008/08.22.13.39
%2 sid.inpe.br/mtc-m15@80/2008/08.22.13.39.05
%@issn 0916-8370
%T Comparison of surface wind stress characteristics over the tropical Atlantic (10 degrees N-40 degrees S) in fields derived from the UWM/COADS, NCEP/NCAR and QuikSCAT datasets
%D 2008
%8 AUG.
%A Rao, Vadlamudi Brahmananda,
%A Giarolla, Emanuel,
%A Espirito Santo, Clovis Monteiro do,
%A Franchito, Sergio Henrique,
%@affiliation Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE/CPTEC)
%@affiliation Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE/CPTEC)
%@affiliation Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE/CPTEC)
%@affiliation Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE/CPTEC)
%B Journal of Oceanography
%V 64
%N 4
%P 551-560
%K wind stress,,ocean modeling, intertropical convergence zone, UWM/COADS, NCEP/NCAR reanalysis, QuikSCAT dataset, climatology.
%X A comparison of monthly wind stress derived from winds of NCEP/NCAR (National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research) reanalysis and UWM/COADS (The University of Wisconsin -Milwaukee/Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set) dataset (1950-1993), and of NCEP/NCAR reanalysis and satellite-based QuikSCAT dataset (2000-2006), is made over the South Atlantic (10 degrees N-40 degrees S). On a mean seasonal scale, the comparison shows that these three wind stress datasets have qualitatively similar patterns. Quantitatively, in general, from about the equator to 20 degrees S in the mid-Atlantic the wind stress values are stronger in NCEP/NCAR data than those in UWM/COADS data. On the other hand, in the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) area the wind stress values in NCEP/NCAR data are slightly weaker than those in UWM/COADS data. In the South Atlantic, between 20 degrees S-40 degrees S, the QuikSCAT dataset presents complex circulation structures which are not present in NCEP/NCAR and UWM/COADS data. The wind stress is used in a numerical ocean model to simulate ocean currents, which are compared to a drifting-buoy observed climatology. The modeled South Equatorial Current agrees better with observations between March-May and June-August. Between December-February, the South Equatorial Current from UWM/COADS and QuikSCAT experiments is stronger and more developed than that from NCEP/NCAR experiment. The Brazil Current, in turn, is better represented in the QuikSCAT experiment. Comparison of the annual migration of ITCZ at 20 degrees and 30 degrees W in UWM/COADS and NCEP/NCAR data sources show that the southernmost position of ITCZ at 30 degrees W in February, March and April coincides with the rainy season in NE Brazil, while the northernmost position of ITCZ at 20 degrees W in August coincides with the maximum rainfall of Northwest Africa.
%@language en
%3 Rao_comparison.pdf
%( sid.inpe.br/iris@1915/2006/01.25.17.48