The intraseasonal variability (ISV; 20-90 days) of the SST is examined using 7 yr of data from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission's (TRMM) Microwave Imager ( TMI). The ISV of the SST is larger in the summer hemisphere and in regions of relatively small ocean mixed layer depth (MLD). For these regions, the reddening of the SST spectrum in regard to the surface flux spectrum suggests that the ISV of the SST is mostly controlled by the integration of the local surface forcing by ocean mixed layer. However, the precise origin of large-scale organized perturbations of the SST also depends on region and season. Since the ISV of the convection is an intermittent phenomenon, the local mode analysis (LMA) technique is used to detect only the ensemble of... |