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Trade-wind variability, southern oscillation and quasi-biennial oscillation

Variabilität der Passate, der Luftdruckschwankungen zwischen Südpazifik und Indischem Ozean sowie der annähernd zweijährigen Periode der äquatorialen Stratosphärenwinde

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Summary

Thev-components of the trade-wind systems in the North and South Pacific and Atlantic Oceans undergo surges of above- and below-normal convergence. These surges have a typical time scale of the order of a year and coincide with long-term fluctuations of precipitation in the inter-tropical convergence zone (ITCZ). There is now evidence that these surges are tied to the “southern oscillation”, i. e. the surface pressure oscillation between South Pacific and South Indian Ocean. Also a strong correlation between the convergence surges of the Atlantic trade-wind systems and the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) of equatorial winds is suggested.

Zusammenfassung

Die Meridionalkomponente der Passatwindsysteme des Nord- und Südpazifik sowie des Nord- und Südatlantik unterliegen Pulsationen über- und unternormaler Konvergenz. Diese Pulsationen besitzen eine Halbperiodendauer der Größenordnung eines Jahres und sind von Niederschlagsschwankungen in der intertropischen Konvergenzzone (ITCZ) begleitet. Es liegen nunmehr Anhaltspunkte vor, die auf einen Zusammenhang zwischen diesen Pulsationen und der “southern oscillation”, d. i. die Luftdruckoszillation zwischen Südpazifik und Südindischem Ozean, deuten. Überdies scheint eine signifikante Korrelation zwischen den Pulsationen der atlantischen Passatsysteme und der annähernd zweijährigen Periodizität (QBO) der äquatorialen Windsysteme in der Stratosphäre zu existieren.

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Reiter, E.R. Trade-wind variability, southern oscillation and quasi-biennial oscillation. Arch. Met. Geoph. Biokl. A. 28, 113–126 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02310160

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