Tropopause and lower stratosphere winds and eddy fluxes on Saturn as seen by Cassini imaging

Icarus ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 354 ◽  
pp. 114095
Author(s):  
John M. Barbara ◽  
Anthony D. Del Genio
2016 ◽  
Vol 73 (12) ◽  
pp. 4711-4730 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Abalos ◽  
William J. Randel ◽  
Thomas Birner

Abstract The regions around the subtropical jets in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) are characterized by strong isentropic stirring and mixing. In this work, the wave spectrum of the associated eddy tracer fluxes is examined using an artificial passive tracer advected on isentropes by the two-dimensional flow. The eddy diffusivity computed from the flux–gradient relation captures the main features of the mixing structure. Eddy transport in the UTLS is strongest in the summer hemisphere, and weak eddy fluxes are found at the core and poleward of the subtropical jets, especially in the winter hemisphere. There is an important contribution of stationary planetary equatorial Rossby waves in the tropical upper troposphere. The transient eddy tracer transport is primarily linked to medium-scale waves (wavenumbers ~4–7) breaking in the regions of weak westerlies around the subtropical jets and to planetary-scale waves at high latitudes. Phase-speed spectra for transient eddy fluxes show a close relationship of waves to the background zonal wind. In the deep tropics, traveling equatorial and Rossby waves of extratropical origin lead to cross-equatorial tracer transport throughout the upper troposphere. Interannual changes show that eddy tracer fluxes closely follow the shifts in the zonal winds associated with El Niño–Southern Oscillation and the quasi-biennial oscillation.


Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 454
Author(s):  
Andrew R. Jakovlev ◽  
Sergei P. Smyshlyaev ◽  
Vener Y. Galin

The influence of sea-surface temperature (SST) on the lower troposphere and lower stratosphere temperature in the tropical, middle, and polar latitudes is studied for 1980–2019 based on the MERRA2, ERA5, and Met Office reanalysis data, and numerical modeling with a chemistry-climate model (CCM) of the lower and middle atmosphere. The variability of SST is analyzed according to Met Office and ERA5 data, while the variability of atmospheric temperature is investigated according to MERRA2 and ERA5 data. Analysis of sea surface temperature trends based on reanalysis data revealed that a significant positive SST trend of about 0.1 degrees per decade is observed over the globe. In the middle latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, the trend (about 0.2 degrees per decade) is 2 times higher than the global average, and 5 times higher than in the Southern Hemisphere (about 0.04 degrees per decade). At polar latitudes, opposite SST trends are observed in the Arctic (positive) and Antarctic (negative). The impact of the El Niño Southern Oscillation phenomenon on the temperature of the lower and middle atmosphere in the middle and polar latitudes of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres is discussed. To assess the relative influence of SST, CO2, and other greenhouse gases’ variability on the temperature of the lower troposphere and lower stratosphere, numerical calculations with a CCM were performed for several scenarios of accounting for the SST and carbon dioxide variability. The results of numerical experiments with a CCM demonstrated that the influence of SST prevails in the troposphere, while for the stratosphere, an increase in the CO2 content plays the most important role.


Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 307
Author(s):  
Makoto Inoue ◽  
Atsushi Ugajin ◽  
Osamu Kiguchi ◽  
Yousuke Yamashita ◽  
Masashi Komine ◽  
...  

In this study, we investigated the effects of the Tibetan High near the tropopause and the North Pacific High in the troposphere on occurrences of hot or cool summers in Japan. We first classified Japan into six regions and identified hot and cool summer years in these regions from a 38-year sample (1980–2017) based on the monthly air temperature. To investigate the features of circulation fields over Asia during hot and cool summers in Japan, we calculated the composite differences (hot summer years minus cool summer years) of several variables such as geopotential height, which indicated significant high-pressure anomalies in the troposphere and lower stratosphere. These results suggest that both the North Pacific and the Tibetan Highs tend to extend to Japan during hot summer years, while cool summers seem to be associated with the weakening of these highs. We found that extension of the Tibetan High to the Japanese mainland can lead to hot summers in Northern, Eastern, and Western Japan. On the other hand, hot summers in the Southwestern Islands may be due to extension of the Tibetan High to the south. Similarly, the latitudinal direction of extension of the North Pacific High is profoundly connected with the summer climate in respective regions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 215 ◽  
pp. 105567
Author(s):  
P.R. Satheesh Chandran ◽  
S.V. Sunilkumar ◽  
M. Muhsin ◽  
Maria Emmanuel ◽  
Geetha Ramkumar ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (6) ◽  
pp. 1963-1985 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Wang ◽  
Malte Jansen ◽  
Ryan Abernathey

AbstractThe phase speed spectrum of ocean mesoscale eddies is fundamental to understanding turbulent baroclinic flows. Since eddy phase propagation has been shown to modulate eddy fluxes, an understanding of eddy phase speeds is also of practical importance for the development of improved eddy parameterizations for coarse resolution ocean models. However, it is not totally clear whether and how linear Rossby wave theory can be used to explain the phase speed spectra in various weakly turbulent flow regimes. Using linear analysis, theoretical constraints are identified that control the eddy phase speed in a two-layer quasigeostrophic (QG) model. These constraints are then verified in a series of nonlinear two-layer QG simulations, spanning a range of parameters with potential relevance to the ocean. In the two-layer QG model, the strength of the inverse cascade exerts an important control on the eddy phase speed. If the inverse cascade is weak, the phase speed spectrum is reasonably well approximated by the phase speed of the linearly most unstable mode. A significant inverse cascade instead leads to barotropization, which in turn leads to mean phase speeds closer to those of barotropic-mode Rossby waves. The two-layer QG results are qualitatively consistent with the observed eddy phase speed spectra in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and may also shed light on the interpretation of phase speed spectra observed in other regions.


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