Abstract
The horizontal and vertical structure of the 3–5-day and 6–9-day easterly waves over West Africa and tropical Atlantic are investigated. NCEP/NCAR reanalyses are used for the period 1979–1995 to produce a 17-year climatology of both 3–5-day and 6–9-day easterly waves. Composite patterns of convection, wind, temperature and vertical velocity are analysed with respect to the following: the modulation by 3–5-day and 6–9-day wave regimes; the contrasts between the ITCZ (5°N–10°N) and the Sahelo-Saharan band (15°N–20°N); the difference between land and ocean, and seasonal variations. Similarities and differences in the characteristics of the two wave regimes are identified.
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Received: 18 August 1999 / Accepted: 14 March 2001
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Diedhiou, A., Janicot, S., Viltard, A. et al. Composite patterns of easterly disturbances over West Africa and the tropical Atlantic: a climatology from the 1979–95 NCEP/NCAR reanalyses. Climate Dynamics 18, 241–253 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/s003820100173
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s003820100173