@article{fdi:010056839,
  title = {{S}easonal heat balance in the upper 100 m of the equatorial {A}tlantic {O}cean},
  author = {{J}ouanno, {J}ulien and {M}arin, {F}r{\'e}d{\'e}ric and {P}enhoat, {Y}ves du and {S}heinbaum, {J}. and {M}olines, {J}. {M}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{T}he variability of sea surface temperature ({SST}) in the equatorial {A}tlantic is characterized by strong cooling in {M}ay-{J}une and a secondary cooling in {N}ovember-{D}ecember. {A} numerical simulation of the tropical {A}tlantic is used to diagnose the different contributions to the temperature tendencies in the upper ocean. {R}ight at the equator, the coolest temperatures are observed between 20 {W} and 10 {W} due to enhanced turbulent heat flux in the center of the basin. {T}his results from a strong vertical shear at the upper bound of the {E}quatorial {U}ndercurrent ({EUC}). {C}ooling through vertical mixing exhibits a semiannual cycle with two peaks of comparable intensity. {D}uring the first peak, in {M}ay-{J}une, vertical mixing drives the {SST} while during the second peak, in {N}ovember-{D}ecember, the strong heating due to air-sea fluxes leads to much weaker effective cooling than during boreal summer. {S}easonal cooling events are closely linked to the enhancement of the vertical shear just above the core of the {EUC}, which appears to be not driven directly by the strength of the {EUC} but by the strength and the direction of the surface current. {T}he vertical shear is maximum when the northern branch of the {S}outh {E}quatorial {C}urrent is intense. {T}he surface cooling in the eastern equatorial {A}tlantic is not as marked as in the center of the basin. {M}ean thermocline and {EUC} rise eastward, but a strong stratification, caused by the presence of warm and low-saline surface waters, limits the vertical mixing to the upper 20 m and disconnects the surface from subsurface dynamics.},
  keywords = {{ZONE} {TROPICALE} ; {ATLANTIQUE}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{J}ournal of {G}eophysical {R}esearch. {O}ceans},
  volume = {116},
  numero = {},
  pages = {{C}09003},
  ISSN = {0148-0227},
  year = {2011},
  DOI = {10.1029/2010jc006912},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010056839},
}