earth science

Tropical Atlantic Variability

Tropical Atlantic Variability is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Tropical Atlantic Variability rather than just read about it. In short: The Tropical Atlantic Variability (TAV) is influenced by internal interaction and external effects. TAV can be discussed in different time scales: seasonal (annual cycle) and interannual.

Key takeaways

Tropical Atlantic Variability belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Tropical Atlantic Variability to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Tropical Atlantic Variability from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Tropical Atlantic Variability (TAV) is influenced by internal interaction and external effects. TAV can be discussed in different time scales: seasonal (annual cycle) and interannual.

Annual cycle Seasonal variability is the dominant time scale of TAV, which is due to the seasonal march of the Sun. This seasonal variability is related to the movement of Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), which is the convergent zone of trade winds from south and north near the equator. It has strong vertical convection resulting to a redundant participation band and weak winds. The mean location of the ITCZ over the Atlantic Ocean is 5–10 degrees north of the geographical equator. All this asymmetric of ITCZ is the ultimate cause of the annual cycle in equatorial sea surface temperature (SST) in Atlantic by maintaining southerly cross-equatorial winds that intensify in boreal summer/fall and relax in boreal spring. From March to April, during which the temperature of the equator reaches maximum, winds are weakest and the sun shines directly over the equator. So, SST is uniformly warm near the equator, which makes the ITCZ really sensitive to even small disturbance of SST and explains the relaxation of cross-equator winds in spring. From July to September, during which the temperature of the equator reaches its minimum, ITCZ reaches its northernmost location, which explains the intensification of cross-equator winds. It can be seen that the process of cooling takes 3 months while that of warming takes 7 months, which are asymmetric. This seasonal asymmetry is due to influence of seasonal continental monsoon. Because of the narrow width of Atlantic, continental monsoon has a much more important influence on its variation compared to the wide Pacific Ocean, whose leading factor is air-sea interaction.

Interannual cycle For interannual, there is one mode called Atlantic Niño, of which periodicity varies. During the Atlantic Nino event, eastern area of Atlantic will appear warm SST anomalies accompanying a relaxation of trade winds. This mechanism, which is known as Bjerknes feedback, is similar to El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). "On interannual and longer timescales, no single mode seems to dominate. Instead, several mechanisms are responsible for tropical Atlantic variability. On the equator, both observational and modeling studies indicate that there is a Bjerknes-type air–sea coupled mode arising from the interaction of the equatorial zonal SST gradient, ITCZ convection, zonal wind, and thermocline depth."

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Tropical Atlantic Variability

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Tropical Atlantic Variability claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Tropical Atlantic Variability before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Tropical Atlantic Variability ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Tropical Atlantic Variability

In research: Tropical Atlantic Variability appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Tropical Atlantic Variability in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Tropical Atlantic Variability is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Atlantic Ocean, Tropical meteorology, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Tropical Atlantic Variability outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Tropical Atlantic Variability in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Tropical Atlantic Variability means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Tropical Atlantic Variability out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Tropical Atlantic Variability in simple terms?

The Tropical Atlantic Variability (TAV) is influenced by internal interaction and external effects. TAV can be discussed in different time scales: seasonal (annual cycle) and interannual.

Why does Tropical Atlantic Variability matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Tropical Atlantic Variability?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Tropical Atlantic Variability.