The effect of islands on low frequency equatorial motions

A complete analytic solution is presented for the influence of equatorial islands on steady low-frequency waves. If the island is small (the meridional extent is much less than the equatorial radius of deformation, R), the waves pass it almost undisturbed, with the mass flux incident on the upstream side flowing around it nearly equally to the north and to the south and continuing on downstream in the lee of the island. For large islands (comparable in extent with R or larger), the principal response is organized as it would be if the island barrier were meridionally infinite. An incident Kelvin wave is largely reflected as long Rossby waves; symmetric long Rossby waves are reflected as equatorial Kelvin waves, while antisymmetric ones stop at the island barrier. In all cases, a boundary current composed of short Rossby waves forms at the eastern side of the island and accomplishes the required meridional redistribution of the zonal mass flux.