On equatorial wave–current interactions

Author(s):  
Emil Novruzov
Keyword(s):  
Author(s):  
Vladimir Zeitlin

After analysis of general properties of horizontal motion in primitive equations and introduction of principal parameters, the key notion of geostrophic equilibrium is introduced. Quasi-geostrophic reductions of one- and two-layer rotating shallow-water models are obtained by a direct filtering of fast inertia–gravity waves through a choice of the time scale of motions of interest, and by asymptotic expansions in Rossby number. Properties of quasi-geostrophic models are established. It is shown that in the beta-plane approximations the models describe Rossby waves. The first idea of the classical baroclinic instability is given, and its relation to Rossby waves is explained. Modifications of quasi-geostrophic dynamics in the presence of coastal, topographic, and equatorial wave-guides are analysed. Emission of mountain Rossby waves by a flow over topography is demonstrated. The phenomena of Kelvin wave breaking, and of soliton formation by long equatorial and topographic Rossby waves due to nonlinear effects are explained.


2007 ◽  
Vol 64 (10) ◽  
pp. 3406-3423 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gui-Ying Yang ◽  
Brian Hoskins ◽  
Julia Slingo

Abstract Multilevel 15-yr ECMWF Re-Analysis (ERA-15) and satellite-observed brightness temperature (Tb) data for the period May–October 1992 are used to examine the horizontal and vertical structures of convectively coupled equatorial waves. Dynamical waves are isolated using a methodology developed previously. Composite structures of convectively coupled equatorial waves are obtained using linear regression/correlation between convection (Tb) and dynamical structures. It is found that the relationship depends on the ambient flow and the nature of the convective coupling, and varies between off-equatorial- and equatorial-centered convection, different hemispheres, and seasons. The Kelvin wave structure in the Western Hemisphere is generally consistent with classic equatorial wave theory and has its convection located in the region of low-level convergence. In the Eastern Hemisphere the Kelvin wave tends to have convection in the region of enhanced lower-tropospheric westerlies and a tilted vertical structure. The Kelvin wave also tends to have a third peak in zonal wind amplitude at 500 hPa and exhibits upward propagation into the lower stratosphere. Lower-tropospheric westward-moving mixed Rossby–gravity (WMRG) and n = 1 Rossby (R1) wave structures and their relationship with convection are consistent with classic equatorial wave theory and the implied lower-tropospheric convergences. In the Eastern Hemisphere the WMRG and R1 waves have first baroclinic mode structures in the vertical. However, in the Western Hemisphere, the R1 wave has a barotropic structure. In the Eastern Hemisphere the R1 wave, like the Kelvin wave, tends to have equatorial convection in the region of enhanced lower-level westerlies, suggesting that enhanced surface energy fluxes associated with these waves may play an important organizing role for equatorial convection in this warm-water hemisphere. In the upper troposphere, eastward-moving Rossby–gravity (EMRG) and n = 1 gravity waves are found in the Eastern Hemisphere, and eastward-moving WMRG and R1 waves are found in the Western Hemisphere, suggestive of Doppler shifting of waves by the ambient flow.


Author(s):  
Qingyang Song ◽  
Hidenori Aiki

AbstractIntraseasonal waves in the tropical Atlantic Ocean have been found to carry prominent energy that affects interannual variability of zonal currents. This study investigates energy transfer and interaction of wind-driven intraseasonal waves using single-layer model experiments. Three sets of wind stress forcing at intraseasonal periods of around 30 days, 50 days and 80 days with a realistic horizontal distribution are employed separately to excite the second baroclinic mode in the tropical Atlantic. A unified scheme for calculating the energy flux, previously approximated and used for the diagnosis of annual Kelvin and Rossby waves, is utilized in the present study in its original form for intraseasonal waves. Zonal velocity anomalies by Kelvin waves dominate the 80-day scenario. Meridional velocity anomalies by Yanai waves dominate the 30-day scenario. In the 50-day scenario, the two waves have comparable magnitudes. The horizontal distribution of wave energy flux is revealed. In the 30-day and 50-day scenarios, a zonally alternating distribution of cross-equatorial wave energy flux is found. By checking an analytical solution excluding Kelvin waves, we confirm that the cross-equatorial flux is caused by the meridional transport of geopotential at the equator. This is attributed to the combination of Kelvin and Yanai waves and leads to the asymmetric distribution of wave energy in the central basin. Coastally-trapped Kelvin waves along the African coast are identified by along-shore energy flux. In the north, the bend of the Guinea coast leads the flux back to the equatorial basin. In the south, the Kelvin waves strengthened by local wind transfer the energy from the equatorial to Angolan regions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 370 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Constantin ◽  
R. I. Ivanov
Keyword(s):  

2013 ◽  
Vol 70 (12) ◽  
pp. 4089-4111 ◽  
Author(s):  
William R. Boos ◽  
Tiffany A. Shaw

Abstract Tropospheric winds can be altered by vertical transfers of momentum due to orographic gravity waves and convection. Previous work showed that, in dry models, such zonally asymmetric torques produce a pattern of tropical ascent that is well described by linear dynamics, together with meridional shifts of the midlatitude jet. Here a series of idealized models is used to understand the effects of moisture on the tropospheric response to tropical and subtropical zonally asymmetric, upper-tropospheric torques. The vertical motion response to a torque is shown to be amplified by the reduction in effective static stability that occurs in moist convecting atmospheres. This amplification occurs only in precipitating regions, and the magnitude of subsidence in nonprecipitating regions saturates when clear-sky radiative cooling balances induced adiabatic warming. For basic states in which precipitation is concentrated in an intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ), most of the vertical motion response is thus confined within the basic-state ITCZ, even when the torque is remote from the ITCZ. Tropical and subtropical torques perturb the extratropical baroclinic eddy field and the convectively coupled equatorial wave field. Resulting changes in momentum flux convergence by transient eddies induce secondary meridional overturning circulations that modify the zonal-mean response to a torque. The net effect allows tropical torques to merge a double ITCZ into a single equatorial ITCZ. The response of tropical transient eddies is highly sensitive to the representation of convection, so the zonal-mean response to a torque is similarly sensitive, even when the torque is located in the subtropics.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Min-Jee Kang ◽  
Hye-Yeong Chun

Abstract. In January 2020, unexpected easterly winds developed in the downward-propagating westerly quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) phase. This event corresponds to the second QBO disruption in history, and it occurred four years after the first disruption that occurred in 2015/16. According to several previous studies, strong midlatitude Rossby waves propagating from the Southern Hemisphere (SH) during the SH winter likely initiated the disruption; nevertheless, the wave forcing that finally led to the disruption has not been investigated. In this study, we examine the role of equatorial waves and small-scale convective gravity waves (CGWs) in the 2019/20 QBO disruption using MERRA-2 global reanalysis data. In June–September 2019, unusually strong Rossby wave forcing originating from the SH decelerated the westerly QBO at 0°–5° N at ~50 hPa. In October–November 2019, vertically (horizontally) propagating Rossby waves and mixed Rossby–gravity (MRG) waves began to increase (decrease). From December 2019, contribution of the MRG wave forcing to the zonal wind deceleration was the largest, followed by the Rossby wave forcing originating from the Northern Hemisphere and the equatorial troposphere. In January 2020, CGWs provided 11 % of the total negative wave forcing at ~43 hPa. Inertia–gravity (IG) waves exhibited a moderate contribution to the negative forcing throughout. Although the zonal-mean precipitation was not significantly larger than the climatology, convectively coupled equatorial wave activities were increased during the 2019/20 disruption. As in the 2015/16 QBO disruption, the increased barotropic instability at the QBO edges generated more MRG waves at 70–90 hPa, and westerly anomalies in the upper troposphere allowed more westward IG waves and CGWs to propagate to the stratosphere. Combining the 2015/16 and 2019/20 disruption cases, Rossby waves and MRG waves can be considered the key factors inducing QBO disruption.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beata Latos ◽  
Thierry Lefort ◽  
Maria K. Flatau ◽  
Piotr J. Flatau ◽  
Dariusz B. Baranowski ◽  
...  

<p>Monitoring of equatorial wave activity and understanding their nature is of high priority for scientists, weather forecasters and policy makers because these waves and their interactions can serve as precursors for weather-driven natural hazards, such as extreme rain and flood events. We studied such precursors of the January 2019 heavy rain and deadly flood in the central Maritime Continent region of southwest Sulawesi, Indonesia. It is shown that a convectively coupled Kelvin wave (CCKW) and a convectively coupled equatorial Rossby wave (CCERW) embedded within the larger-scale envelope of the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO), contributed to the onset of a mesoscale convective system. The latest developed over the Java Sea and propagated onshore, resulting in extreme rain and devastating flood. </p><p>For the analysis of the January 2019 flood, we explored large datasets and detected interesting features to find multivariate relationships through visualization. We used SpectralWeather – a new tool supporting tropical weather training, research and forecasting, easily accessible at https://www.spectralweather.com. Extending Cameron Beccario's earth.nullschool.net project, SpectralWeather focuses on spectral decomposition of meteorological and oceanic fields into equatorial waves – CCKW, MJO, CCERW and Mixed Rossby-Gravity waves. SpectralWeather uses ECMWF ERA5 reanalysis at several levels, NASA GPM rainfall datasets, OMI OLR index, NEMO SST, AVISO sea surface height, and OSCAR currents.</p><p>This new visualization tool can help to quantify and understand factors triggering natural hazards in the global tropics. We will discuss its interface and available features, based on the example of the January 2019 Sulawesi flood and other flood and extreme rain events in the Maritime Continent.   </p>


2001 ◽  
Vol 19 (8) ◽  
pp. 985-990 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. N. Sasi ◽  
V. Deepa

Abstract. The vertical flux of the horizontal momentum associated with the equatorial Kelvin and Rossby-gravity waves are estimated from the winds measured by the Indian MST radar located at Gadanki (13.5° N, 79.2° E) during September 1995 to August 1996 in the tropospheric and lower stratospheric regions for all four seasons. The present study shows that momentum flux values are greater during equinox seasons than solstices, with values near the tropopause level being  16 × 10-3, 7.4 × 10-3, 27 × 10-3 and 5.5 × 10-3 m2 s-2 for Kelvin waves and 5.5 × 10-3, 3.5 × 10-3, 6.7 × 10-3 and 2.1 × 10-3 m2 s-2 for RG waves during autumnal equinox, winter, vernal equinox and summer seasons, respectively. Using these momentum flux values near the tropopause level, acceleration of the mean flow in the stratosphere up to a 29 km height were computed following Plumb (1984), by considering the wave-meanflow interaction and the deposition of the momentum through the radiative dissipation of the waves. A comparison of the estimated mean-flow acceleration in the stratosphere compares well, except at a few height levels, with the observed mean-flow accelerations in the stratosphere derived from the radiosonde data from a nearby station.Key words. Meteorology and atmosphenic dynamics (tropical meteorology; waves and tides)


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