© Author(s) 2013. CC Attribution 3.0 License. Earth System Dynamics

Abstract. Tropical cyclones (TCs) actively contribute to the dynamics of Earth’s coupled climate system. They influence oceanic mixing rates, upper-ocean heat content, and air–sea fluxes, with implications for atmosphere and ocean dynam-ics on multiple spatial and temporal scales. Using an ocean general circulation model with modified surface wind forc-ing, we explore how TC winds can excite equatorial ocean waves in the tropical Pacific. We highlight a situation where three successive TCs in the western North Pacific region, corresponding to events in 2003, excite a combination of Kelvin and Yanai waves in the equatorial Pacific. The resul-tant thermocline adjustment significantly modifies the ther-mal structure of the upper equatorial Pacific and leads to eastward zonal heat transport. Observations of upper-ocean temperature by the Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TAO) buo