  Previous studies have shown that wind-forced baroclinic Rossby waves can
capture a large portion of low-frequency steric SSH variations in the North
Atlantic. In this paper, we extend the classical wind-driven Rossby wave model
derived in a 1.5 layer ocean to include surface buoyancy forcing, and then use
it to assess the contribution from buoyancy-forced Rossby waves to
low-frequency North Atlantic steric SSH variations. In the
tropical-to-mid-latitude North Atlantic we find that wind-driven Rossby waves
are dominant, however, in the eastern subpolar North Atlantic their
contribution is roughly the same as that of buoyancy-forced Rossby waves, where
together they capture up to 50% of low-frequency steric SSH variations.
