SST changes in the South Atlantic driven by intense cyclones

Abstract

The identification and analysis of the effects of intense cyclone activity over the South Atlantic is the main focus of the current work. Using databases distributed by NCEP/NOAA of daily sea level pressure (SLP) and daily sea surface temperature (SST), the intense cyclones were detected through objective criteria of SLP fall, and the correspondent SST changes were investigated. The satellite measurements of daily SST changes are very noisy, which makes very difficult to identify the effect of the atmospheric system. In some interesting situations, it's possible to verify the relevance of horizontal advection and Ekrnan pumping processes to drive SST anomalies, but additional quantitative investigations are still necessary to understand the different processes and their correspondent scales.