The nonlinear adjustment of the wind and mass fields to idealized tropical heat sources is studied with a simple nonlinear primitive equation model with emphasis on the upper level circulation over South America and neighboring oceanic regions during the austral summer. Numerical experiments are performed with (1) an idealized symmetrical heat source in the Amazon region, (2) the asymmetry induced in source (1) by the SACZ, (3) the effect of the Atlantic ITCZ off the Amazon mouth, (4) the African heat source, (5) the West Pacific source, and (6) the central Pacific source during the warm phase of ENSO. The linear response is obtained through the reduction of the heat source by a factor of 10 and subsequent multiplication of the results by the same factor. Two basic questions are discussed: (1) are localized heat sources important for the development of the observed cyclonic flow in the midequatorial Atlantic and (2) where is the compensating subsidence associated with the Amazon heat source located? The nonlinearity helps organizing a weak cyclonic curvature in the midequatorial Atlantic, with the inclusion of source (2). The basic state generated by the west Pacific source, and primarily by the central Pacific source, has a large impact on the cyclonic curvature on the equatorial Atlantic. The compensating subsidence associated with the Amazon source is concentrated on the southwest side of the source. The SACZ extension helps to enhance the subsidence over the northern Argentina, and the Atlantic ITCZ enhances the subsidence over northeast Brazil and central equatorial Atlantic. Nonlinearity weakens the subsidence at the 500 hPa level inducing a more barotropic structure in the dynamical response to the heating. ¿ 1998 American Geophysical Union