scholarly journals The Equivalent Barotropic Structure of Waves in the Tropical Atmosphere in the Western Hemisphere

2017 ◽  
Vol 74 (6) ◽  
pp. 1689-1704 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gui-Ying Yang ◽  
Brian J. Hoskins
Keyword(s):  
Deep Convection ◽  
Zonal Flow ◽  
Equatorial Region ◽  
Western Hemisphere ◽  
Vertical Shear ◽  
Tropical Atmosphere ◽  
Upper Troposphere ◽  
Westerly Flow ◽  
Zonal Advection ◽  
The Tropics

Abstract Tropical waves are generally considered to have a baroclinic structure. However, analysis of ERA-Interim and NOAA OLR data for the period 1979–2010 shows that in the equatorial and Northern Hemisphere near-equatorial regions in the tropical Western Hemisphere (WH), westward- and eastward-moving transients, with zonal wavenumbers 2–10 and periods of 2–30 days, have little tilt in the vertical and can be said to be equivalent barotropic. The westward-moving transients in the equatorial region have large projections onto the westward mixed Rossby–gravity (WMRG) wave and those in the near-equatorial region project onto the gravest Rossby wave and also the WMRG. The eastward-moving transients have large projections onto the Doppler-shifted eastward-moving versions of these waves. To examine how such equivalent barotropic structures are possible in the tropics, terms in the vorticity equation are analyzed. It is deduced that waves must have westward intrinsic phase speeds and can exist in the WH with its large westerly vertical shear. Throughout the depth, the advection of vorticity by the zonal flow and the β term are large and nearly cancel. In the upper troposphere the zonal advection by the strong westerly flow wins and the residual is partially balanced by vortex shrinking associated with divergence above a region of ascent. Below the region of ascent the β term wins and is partially balanced by vortex stretching associated with the convergence. An equivalent barotropic structure is therefore maintained in a similar manner to higher latitudes. The regions of ascent are usually associated with deep convection and, consistently, WH waves directly connected to tropical convection are also found to be equivalent barotropic.

scholarly journals Midlatitude–Equatorial Dynamics of a Grounded Deep Western Boundary Current. Part I: Midlatitude Flow and the Transition to the Equatorial Region

2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (10) ◽  
pp. 2457-2469 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordon E. Swaters
Keyword(s):  
Bottom Topography ◽  
Zonal Flow ◽  
Ocean Basin ◽  
Equatorial Region ◽  
Western Boundary Current ◽  
Western Boundary ◽  
Boundary Current ◽  
Qualitative Properties ◽  
Deep Western Boundary Current ◽  
The Tropics

AbstractA comprehensive theoretical study of the nonlinear hemispheric-scale midlatitude and cross-equatorial steady-state dynamics of a grounded deep western boundary current is given. The domain considered is an idealized differentially rotating, meridionally aligned basin with zonally varying parabolic bottom topography so that the model ocean shallows on both the western and eastern sides of the basin. Away from the equator, the flow is governed by nonlinear planetary geostrophic dynamics on sloping topography in which the potential vorticity equation can be explicitly solved. As the flow enters the equatorial region, it speeds up and becomes increasingly nonlinear and passes through two distinguished inertial layers referred to as the “intermediate” and “inner” inertial equatorial boundary layers, respectively. The flow in the intermediate equatorial region is shown to accelerate and turn eastward, forming a narrow equatorial jet. The qualitative properties of the solution presented are consistent with the known dynamical characteristics of the deep western boundary currents as they flow from the midlatitudes into the tropics. The predominately zonal flow across the ocean basin in the inner equatorial region (and its exit from the equatorial region) is determined in Part II of this study.

scholarly journals A statistical analysis of the influence of deep convection on water vapor variability in the tropical upper troposphere

2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (15) ◽  
pp. 5847-5864 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. S. Wright ◽  
R. Fu ◽  
A. J. Heymsfield
Keyword(s):  
Water Vapor ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission ◽  
Upper Troposphere ◽  
Ambient Relative Humidity ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Ice Water Content ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
Ice Water ◽  
Tropical Upper Troposphere

Abstract. The factors that control the influence of deep convective detrainment on water vapor in the tropical upper troposphere are examined using observations from multiple satellites in conjunction with a trajectory model. Deep convection is confirmed to act primarily as a moisture source to the upper troposphere, modulated by the ambient relative humidity (RH). Convective detrainment provides strong moistening at low RH and offsets drying due to subsidence across a wide range of RH. Strong day-to-day moistening and drying takes place most frequently in relatively dry transition zones, where between 0.01% and 0.1% of Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission Precipitation Radar observations indicate active convection. Many of these strong moistening events in the tropics can be directly attributed to detrainment from recent tropical convection, while others in the subtropics appear to be related to stratosphere-troposphere exchange. The temporal and spatial limits of the convective source are estimated to be about 36–48 h and 600–1500 km, respectively, consistent with the lifetimes of detrainment cirrus clouds. Larger amounts of detrained ice are associated with enhanced upper tropospheric moistening in both absolute and relative terms. In particular, an increase in ice water content of approximately 400% corresponds to a 10–90% increase in the likelihood of moistening and a 30–50% increase in the magnitude of moistening.

scholarly journals Transport of biomass burning smoke to the upper troposphere by deep convection in the equatorial region

2001 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 951-954 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. O. Andreae ◽  
P. Artaxo ◽  
H. Fischer ◽  
S. R. Freitas ◽  
J.-M. Grégoire ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biomass Burning ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Equatorial Region ◽  
Upper Troposphere

scholarly journals Seasonal and Subseasonal Variability of Potential Energy Injected into the Tropical UTLS by Convective and Tropical Cyclone Outflow

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (22) ◽  
pp. 8003-8017
Author(s):  
Lindsey E. Nytes ◽  
Gregory J. Tripoli
Keyword(s):  
Potential Energy ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Radiative Loss ◽  
Upper Troposphere ◽  
High Entropy ◽  
Subseasonal Variability ◽  
Subtropical Jet Stream ◽  
Subtropical Jet ◽  
Lower Entropy ◽  
The Tropics

Abstract This study employs 40 years of ERA-Interim data to quantify the periodic behavior of the integral amount of potential energy stored in the tropical upper UTLS (upper troposphere and lower stratosphere) originally placed there by high-entropy outflow of deep convection and tropical cyclones (TCs). The upper UTLS is defined to be isentropic layers above the level of zero net radiation (LZNR) in the tropics. Once there, the trapped high-entropy air mass must flow into the extratropics where radiative loss will allow it to subside back to lower-entropy levels. Mean poleward fluxes of isentropic mass are prevented by an inertial wall associated with Earth’s rotation. This causes the mass of these isentropic layers to build up, creating a bubble of high potential energy. Periodic releases of this mass into the extratropics in the form of tropical plumes (TPs) help drain the bubble of its mass buildup over time. We present a metric to quantify the energy trapped and stored in this bubble to be the jet available potential energy (JAPE), in reference to the availability of this energy to fuel the kinetic energy of the subtropical jet stream (STJ), which bounds the tropical JAPE bubble (TJB) on its poleward extremities. We also calculate the isentropic mass M, which measures the isentropic thickness. Results of a 40-yr-time-series analysis of upper-UTLS JAPE and M show that the TJB features periodicity in the buildup and release of JAPE and M.

scholarly journals Convectively Coupled Equatorial Waves. Part III: Synthesis Structures and Their Forcing and Evolution

2007 ◽  
Vol 64 (10) ◽  
pp. 3438-3451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gui-Ying Yang ◽  
Brian Hoskins ◽  
Julia Slingo
Keyword(s):  
Lower Troposphere ◽  
Wave Activity ◽  
Equatorial Region ◽  
Western Hemisphere ◽  
Equatorial Waves ◽  
Kelvin Wave ◽  
Upper Troposphere ◽  
Convectively Coupled Equatorial Waves ◽  
Eastern Hemisphere ◽  
Equatorial Wave

Abstract Building on Parts I and II of this study, the structures of eastward- and westward-moving convectively coupled equatorial waves are examined through synthesis of projections onto standard equatorial wave horizontal structures. The interaction between these equatorial wave components and their evolution are investigated. It is shown that the total eastward-moving fields and their coupling with equatorial convection closely resemble the standard Kelvin wave in the lower troposphere, with intensified convection in phase with anomalous westerlies in the Eastern Hemisphere (EH) and with anomalous convergence in the Western Hemisphere (WH). However, in the upper troposphere, the total fields show a mixture of the Kelvin wave and higher (n = 0 and 1) wave structures, with strong meridional wind and its divergence. The equatorial total fields show what may be described as a modified first internal Kelvin wave vertical structure in the EH, with a tilt in the vertical and a third peak in the midtroposphere. There is evidence that the EH midtropospheric Kelvin wave is closely associated with SH extratropical eastward-moving wave activity, the vertical velocity associated with the wave activity stretching into the equatorial region in the mid–upper troposphere. The midtropospheric zonal wind and geopotential height show a pattern that may be associated with a forced wave. The westward-moving fields associated with off-equatorial convection show very different behaviors between the EH midsummer and the WH transition seasons. In the EH midsummer, the total fields have a baroclinic structure, with the off-equatorial convection in phase with relatively warm air, suggesting convective forcing of the dynamical fields. The total structures exhibit a mixture of the n = 0, 1 components, with the former dominating to the east of convection and the latter to the west of convection. The n = 0 component is found to be closely connected to the lower-level n = 1 Rossby (R1) wave that appears earlier and seems to provide organization for the convection, which in turn forces the n = 0 wave. In the WH transition season the total fields have a barotropic structure and are dominated by the R1 wave. There is evidence that this barotropic R1 wave, as well as the associated tropical convection, is forced by the NH upper-tropospheric extratropical Rossby wave activity. In the EH, westward-moving lower-level wind structures associated with equatorial convection resemble the R1 wave, with equatorial westerlies in phase with the intensified convection. However, westward-moving n = −1 and n = 0 structures are also involved.

scholarly journals Comparison of ISS–CATS and CALIPSO–CALIOP Characterization of High Clouds in the Tropics

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (23) ◽  
pp. 3946
Author(s):  
Pasquale Sellitto ◽  
Silvia Bucci ◽  
Bernard Legras
Keyword(s):  
Optical Properties ◽  
Space Station ◽  
Satellite Observation ◽  
Observation Data ◽  
Upper Troposphere ◽  
Cloud Properties ◽  
Synchronous Orbit ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
High Clouds

Clouds in the tropics have an important role in the energy budget, atmospheric circulation, humidity, and composition of the tropical-to-global upper-troposphere–lower-stratosphere. Due to its non-sun-synchronous orbit, the Cloud–Aerosol Transport System (CATS) onboard the International Space Station (ISS) provided novel information on clouds from space in terms of overpass time in the period of 2015–2017. In this paper, we provide a seasonally resolved comparison of CATS characterization of high clouds (between 13 and 18 km altitude) in the tropics with well-established CALIPSO (Cloud–Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation) data, both in terms of clouds’ occurrence and cloud optical properties (optical depth). Despite the fact that cloud statistics for CATS and CALIOP are generated using intrinsically different local overpass times, the characterization of high clouds occurrence and optical properties in the tropics with the two instruments is very similar. Observations from CATS underestimate clouds occurrence (up to 80%, at 18 km) and overestimate the occurrence of very thick clouds (up to 100% for optically very thick clouds, at 18 km) at higher altitudes. Thus, the description of stratospheric overshoots with CATS and CALIOP might be different. While this study hints at the consistency of CATS and CALIOP clouds characterizaton, the small differences highlighted in this work should be taken into account when using CATS for estimating cloud properties and their variability in the tropics.

scholarly journals Implications of GNSS-Inferred Tropopause Altitude Associated with Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flashes

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 1939
Author(s):  
Tao Xian ◽  
Gaopeng Lu ◽  
Hongbo Zhang ◽  
Yongping Wang ◽  
Shaolin Xiong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gamma Ray ◽  
Thermal Structure ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Caribbean Sea ◽  
Negative Bias ◽  
Upper Troposphere ◽  
Cold Anomaly ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Geographic Distributions

The thermal structure of the environmental atmosphere associated with Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes (TGFs) is investigated with the combined observations from several detectors (FERMI, RHESSI, and Insight-HXMT) and GNSS-RO (SAC-C, COSMIC, GRACE, TerraSAR-X, and MetOp-A). The geographic distributions of TGF-related tropopause altitude and climatology are similar. The regional TGF-related tropopause altitude in Africa and the Caribbean Sea is 0.1–0.4 km lower than the climatology, whereas that in Asia is 0.1–0.2 km higher. Most of the TGF-related tropopause altitudes are slightly higher than the climatology, while some of them have a slightly negative bias. The subtropical TGF-producing thunderstorms are warmer in the troposphere and have a colder and higher tropopause over land than the ocean. There is no significant land–ocean difference in the thermal structure for the tropical TGF-producing thunderstorms. The TGF-producing thunderstorms have a cold anomaly in the middle and upper troposphere and have stronger anomalies than the deep convection found in previous studies.

scholarly journals Observing the Tropical Atmosphere in Moisture Space

2018 ◽  
Vol 75 (10) ◽  
pp. 3313-3330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hauke Schulz ◽  
Bjorn Stevens
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Circulation Pattern ◽  
Large Scale Structure ◽  
Scale Structure ◽  
Low Rank ◽  
Substantial Part ◽  
Tropical Atmosphere ◽  
Shallow Clouds ◽  
Self Aggregation

Measurements from the Barbados Cloud Observatory are analyzed to identify the processes influencing the distribution of moist static energy and the large-scale organization of tropical convection. Five years of water vapor and cloud profiles from a Raman lidar and cloud radar are composed to construct the structure of the observed atmosphere in moisture space. The large-scale structure of the atmosphere is similar to that now familiar from idealized studies of convective self-aggregation, with shallow clouds prevailing over a moist marine layer in regions of low-rank humidity, and deep convection in a nearly saturated atmosphere in regions of high-rank humidity. With supplementary reanalysis datasets the overall circulation pattern is reconstructed in moisture space, and shows evidence of a substantial lower-tropospheric component to the circulation. This shallow component of the circulation helps support the differentiation between the moist and dry columns, similar to what is found in simulations of convective self-aggregation. Radiative calculations show that clear-sky radiative differences can explain a substantial part of this circulation, with further contributions expected from cloud radiative effects. The shallow component appears to be important for maintaining the low gross moist stability of the convecting column. A positive feedback between a shallow circulation driven by differential radiative cooling and the low-level moisture gradients that help support it is hypothesized to play an important role in conditioning the atmosphere for deep convection. The analysis suggests that the radiatively driven shallow circulations identified by modeling studies as contributing to the self-aggregation of convection in radiative–convective equilibrium similarly play a role in shaping the intertropical convergence zone and, hence, the large-scale structure of the tropical atmosphere.

scholarly journals Convective Characteristics of the Madden–Julian Oscillation over the Central Indian Ocean Observed by Shipborne Radar during DYNAMO

2014 ◽  
Vol 71 (8) ◽  
pp. 2859-2877 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weixin Xu ◽  
Steven A. Rutledge
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Phase 1 ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission ◽  
Heavy Precipitation ◽  
Upper Troposphere ◽  
Central Indian Ocean ◽  
Radar Echo ◽  
Two Phases

Abstract This study investigates the convective population and environmental conditions during three MJO events over the central Indian Ocean in late 2011 using measurements collected from the Research Vessel (R/V) Roger Revelle deployed in Dynamics of the MJO (DYNAMO). Radar-based rainfall estimates from the Revelle C-band radar are first placed in the context of larger-scale Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) rainfall data to demonstrate that the reduced Revelle radar range captured the MJO convective evolution. Time series analysis and MJO phase-based composites of Revelle measurements both support the “recharge–discharge” MJO theory. Time series of echo-top heights indicate that convective deepening during the MJO onset occurs over a 12–16-day period. Composite statistics show evident recharging–discharging features in convection and the environment. Population of shallow/isolated convective cells, SST, CAPE, and the lower-tropospheric moisture increase (recharge) substantially approximately two to three phases prior to the MJO onset. Deep and intense convection and lightning peak in phase 1 when the sea surface temperature and CAPE are near maximum values. However, cells in this phase are not well organized and produce little stratiform rain, possibly owing to reduced shear and a relatively dry upper troposphere. The presence of deep convection leads the mid- to upper-tropospheric humidity by one to two phases, suggesting its role in moistening these levels. During the MJO onset (i.e., phase 2), the mid- to upper troposphere becomes very moist, and precipitation, radar echo-top heights, and the mesoscale extent of precipitation all increase and obtain peak values. Persistent heavy precipitation in these active periods helps reduce the SST and dry/stabilize (or discharge) the atmosphere.

scholarly journals Evaluation of near-tropopause ozone distributions in the Global Modeling Initiative combined stratosphere/troposphere model with ozonesonde data

2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1589-1634 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. B. Considine ◽  
J. A. Logan ◽  
M. A. Olsen
Keyword(s):  
Annual Cycle ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
Model Simulation ◽  
Atmospheric Composition ◽  
Vertical Resolution ◽  
Residual Circulation ◽  
Vertical Diffusion ◽  
Global Modeling ◽  
Upper Troposphere ◽  
The Tropics

Abstract. The NASA Global Modeling Initiative has developed a combined stratosphere/troposphere chemistry and transport model which fully represents the processes governing atmospheric composition near the tropopause. We evaluate model ozone distributions near the tropopause, using two high vertical resolution monthly mean ozone profile climatologies constructed with ozonesonde data, one by averaging on pressure levels and the other relative to the thermal tropopause. Model ozone is high-biased at the SH tropical and NH midlatitude tropopause by ~45% in a 4° latitude × 5° longitude model simulation. Increasing the resolution to 2°×2.5&amp;deg increases the NH tropopause high bias to ~60%, but decreases the tropical tropopause bias to ~30%, an effect of a better-resolved residual circulation. The tropopause ozone biases appear not to be due to an overly vigorous residual circulation or excessive stratosphere/troposphere exchange, but are more likely due to insufficient vertical resolution or excessive vertical diffusion near the tropopause. In the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere, model/measurement intercomparisons are strongly affected by the averaging technique. NH and tropical mean model lower stratospheric biases are <20%. In the upper troposphere, the 2°×2.5&amp;deg simulation exhibits mean high biases of ~20% and~35% during April in the tropics and NH midlatitudes, respectively, compared to the pressure-averaged climatology. However, relative-to-tropopause averaging produces upper troposphere high biases of ~30% and 70% in the tropics and NH midlatitudes. This is because relative-to-tropopause averaging better preserves large cross-tropopause O3 gradients, which are seen in the daily sonde data, but not in daily model profiles. The relative annual cycle of ozone near the tropopause is reproduced very well in the model Northern Hemisphere midlatitudes. In the tropics, the model amplitude of the near-tropopause annual cycle is weak. This is likely due to the annual amplitude of mean vertical upwelling near the tropopause, which analysis suggests is ~30% weaker than in the real atmosphere.

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