ESS228
Prof. Jin-Yi Yu
Gill’s Response to Symmetric Heating
•This response consists of a eastward-propagating Kelvin
wave to the east of the symmetric heating and a westward-propagating Rossby wave of n=1 to
the west.
•The Kelvin wave low-level easterlies to the east of the
heating, while the Rossby wave produces low-level westerlies to the west.
•The easterlies are trapped to the equator due to the
property of the Kelvin wave.
• The n=1 Rossby wave
consists of two cyclones symmetric and straddling the equator.
•The meridional scale of this response is controlled by the
equatorial Rossby radius, which is related to the β-effect and the
stability and is typically of the order of 1000km.
(from
Gill 1980)