To understand the characteristics of sea surface height signatures of tropical instability waves (TIWs), a linearized model of the central Pacific Ocean was developed in which the vertical structures of the state variables are projected onto a set of orthogonal baroclinic eigenvectors. In lieu of in situ current measurements with...
A linearized model with two vertical modes has been developed to understand observed characteristics of monthly variability in the Equatorial Pacific from TOPEX/POSEIDON measurements of Sea Surface Height (SSH). The 2-mode model is obtained from an equatorial beta plane model that has been linearized about a geostrophically balanced mean flow...