%0 Conference Proceedings
%4 sid.inpe.br/iris@1912/2005/07.21.00.57.56
%2 sid.inpe.br/iris@1912/2005/07.21.00.58
%F 10381
%T The monitoring of the Tropical Atlantic using moored buoys and satellite telemetry: the PIRATA Project
%D 2002
%A Lorenzzetti, Jão Antonio,
%B International Symposium on Remote Sensing of Environment (ISRSE), 29
%C Buenos Aires, AR
%8 8-12 Apr. 2002
%X The seasonal cycle is the largest ocean-atmosphere signal in the tropical Atlantic. Superimposed on the mean seasonal cycle are two modes of interannual and longer time scale ocean-atmosphere variability in the tropical Atlantic with significant impact on regional climate. The first is the so-called "dipole mode" which involves north-south interhemispheric variations in SST patterns. This is decadal or longer time scale mode of variations. The second is a "equatorial" mode, which is in many ways similar to the one present in the Pacific ocean operating at seasonal and interannual time scales. of the modes are associated with very important climatic variability observed in South America, Africa and North America. A better understanding of the relative contributions of different components of surface heat flux and internal ocean dynamics in controlling the long time scales of variability of SST in the region is in need if we want to be able to predict climate variations. The acquisition of meteorological and oceanic variables necessary to achieve the required understanding of such processes is a technological challenge considering the size of region and the time scales involved. The best solution to this problem has been a merge between the in situ data collection integrated with the space segment via satellite data telemetry. The PIRATA (Pilot Research Moored Array in the Tropical Atlantic)project has been implemented using this modus operandum and can be considered as an extension of the Pacific ocean TAO project. An array of 12 ATLAS (Autonomous Temperature Line Acquisition System)moorings is being maintained in the region since 1998. In this paper we present the characteristics of this oceanic monitoring system, encountered difficulties, data acquired and some examples of surface heat fluxes calculated using the PIRATA data.
%3 INPE 9454.pdf