scholarly journals Meridional Propagation of Planetary-Scale Waves in Vertical Shear: Implication for the Venus Atmosphere

2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (6) ◽  
pp. 1623-1636 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takeshi Imamura
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Solutions ◽  
Middle Atmosphere ◽  
Phase Speed ◽  
Momentum Transport ◽  
Vertical Shear ◽  
Zonal Flows ◽  
Planetary Scale ◽  
Propagating Waves ◽  
Low Latitudes ◽  
Zonal Propagation

Abstract It is shown that planetary-scale waves are inherently accompanied by latitudinal momentum transport when they propagate vertically in vertically sheared zonal flows. Because of the dependence of the wave's latitudinal scale on the intrinsic phase speed, positive (negative) vertical shear should force prograde (retrograde) waves to focus equatorward and retrograde (prograde) waves to expand poleward in the course of upward propagation. Consequently, Eliassen–Palm (EP) flux vectors are tilted from the vertical and nonzero latitudinal momentum fluxes occur. The direction of momentum transport should always be equatorward (poleward) in positive (negative) vertical shear irrespective of the zonal propagation direction. The idea was applied to upwardly propagating waves in the Venusian middle atmosphere, where vertical shear of strong midlatitude jets and equatorial superrotation exist. Numerical solutions showed that Kelvin and prograde inertio-gravity waves focus equatorward and mixed Rossby–gravity and Rossby waves expand poleward below the cloud top. The former is attributed primarily to the vertical shear of the superrotation, while the latter to the vertical shear beneath the midlatitude jets. Such characteristics of planetary-scale waves will cause angular momentum separation between high and low latitudes and, at least partly, contribute to the maintenance of the superrotation.

scholarly journals Effect of latitudinal differential rotation on solar Rossby waves: Critical layers, eigenfunctions, and momentum fluxes in the equatorial β plane

2020 ◽  
Vol 642 ◽  
pp. A178
Author(s):  
L. Gizon ◽  
D. Fournier ◽  
M. Albekioni
Keyword(s):  
Differential Rotation ◽  
Eddy Viscosity ◽  
Rossby Waves ◽  
Wave Attenuation ◽  
Phase Speed ◽  
Propagating Waves ◽  
Low Latitudes ◽  
Stream Functions ◽  
Critical Layers ◽  
Sommerfeld Equation

Context. Retrograde-propagating waves of vertical vorticity with longitudinal wavenumbers between 3 and 15 have been observed on the Sun with a dispersion relation close to that of classical sectoral Rossby waves. The observed vorticity eigenfunctions are symmetric in latitude, peak at the equator, switch sign near 20°–30°, and decrease at higher latitudes. Aims. We search for an explanation that takes solar latitudinal differential rotation into account. Methods. In the equatorial β plane, we studied the propagation of linear Rossby waves (phase speed c <  0) in a parabolic zonal shear flow, U = − U̅ ξ2 < 0, where U̅ = 244 m s−1, and ξ is the sine of latitude. Results. In the inviscid case, the eigenvalue spectrum is real and continuous, and the velocity stream functions are singular at the critical latitudes where U = c. We add eddy viscosity to the problem to account for wave attenuation. In the viscous case, the stream functions solve a fourth-order modified Orr-Sommerfeld equation. Eigenvalues are complex and discrete. For reasonable values of the eddy viscosity corresponding to supergranular scales and above (Reynolds number 100 ≤ Re ≤ 700), all modes are stable. At fixed longitudinal wavenumber, the least damped mode is a symmetric mode whose real frequency is close to that of the classical Rossby mode, which we call the R mode. For Re ≈ 300, the attenuation and the real part of the eigenfunction is in qualitative agreement with the observations (unlike the imaginary part of the eigenfunction, which has a larger amplitude in the model). Conclusions. Each longitudinal wavenumber is associated with a latitudinally symmetric R mode trapped at low latitudes by solar differential rotation. In the viscous model, R modes transport significant angular momentum from the dissipation layers toward the equator.

Jet Interaction and the Influence of a Minimum Phase Speed Bound on the Propagation of Eddies

2013 ◽  
Vol 70 (8) ◽  
pp. 2614-2628 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda K. O'Rourke ◽  
Geoffrey K. Vallis
Keyword(s):  
Phase Speed ◽  
Zonal Flow ◽  
Separation Distance ◽  
Long Waves ◽  
Minimum Phase ◽  
Planetary Scale ◽  
Subtropical Jet ◽  
Zonal Wavenumber ◽  
Propagating Waves ◽  
Cospectral Analysis

Abstract The feedback between planetary-scale eddies and analogs of the midlatitude eddy-driven jet and the subtropical jet is investigated in a barotropic β-plane model. In the model the subtropical jet is generated by a relaxation process and the eddy-driven jet by an imposed wavemaker. A minimum zonal phase speed bound is proposed in addition to the established upper bound, where the zonal phase speed of waves must be less than that of the zonal mean zonal flow. Cospectral analysis of eddy momentum flux convergence shows that eddy activity is generally restricted by these phase speed bounds. The wavenumber-dependent minimum phase speed represents a turning line for meridionally propagating waves. By varying the separation distance between the relaxation and stirring regions, it is found that a sustained, double-jet state is achieved when either a critical or turning latitude forms in the interjet region. The interjet turning latitude filters eddies by zonal wavenumber such that shorter waves tend to be reflected off of the relaxed jet and are confined to the eddy-driven jet. The interjet region is transparent to long waves that act to blend the jets and may be associated with barotropic instability. The eddy-driven and relaxed jets tend to merge owing to the propagation of these long waves through the relaxed jet waveguide.

scholarly journals The SAO and Kelvin waves in the EuroGRIPS GCMS and the UK Met. Office analyses

2001 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Amodei ◽  
S. Pawson ◽  
A. A. Scaife ◽  
U. Langematz ◽  
W. Lahoz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gravity Waves ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Middle Atmosphere ◽  
Phase Speed ◽  
Kelvin Waves ◽  
Planetary Scale ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
External Conditions ◽  
Intercomparison Project ◽  
The Uk

Abstract. We compare the tropical oscillations and planetary scale Kelvin waves in four troposphere-stratosphere climate models and the assimilated dataset produced by the United Kingdom Meteorological Office (UKMO). The comparison has been made in the GRIPS framework "GCM-Reality Intercomparison Project for SPARC", where SPARC is Stratospheric Processes and their Role in Climate, a project of the World Climate Research Program. The four models evaluated are European members of GRIPS: the UKMO Unified Model (UM), the model of the Free University in Berlin (FUB–GCM), the ARPEGE-climat model of the French National Centre for Meteorological Research (CNRM), and the Extended UGAMP GCM (EUGCM) of the Centre for Global Atmospheric Modelling (CGAM). The integrations were performed with different, but annually periodic external conditions (e.g., sea-surface temperature, sea ice, and incoming solar radiation). The structure of the tropical winds and the strengths of the Kelvin waves are examined. In the analyses where the SAO (Semi-Annual Oscillation) and the QBO (Quasi-Biennal Oscillation) are reasonably well captured, the amplitude of these analysed Kelvin waves is close to that observed in independent data from UARS (Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite). In agreement with observations, the Kelvin waves generated in the models propagate into the middle atmosphere as wave packets, consistent with a convective forcing origin. In three of the models, slow Kelvin waves propagate too high and their amplitudes are overestimated in the upper stratosphere and in the mesosphere, the exception is the UM which has weaker waves. None of the modelled waves are sufficient to force realistic eastward phases of the QBO or SAO. Although the SAO is represented by all models, only two of them are able to generate westerlies between 10 hPa and 50 hPa. The importance of the role played in the SAO by unresolved gravity waves is emphasized. Although it exhibits some unrealistic features, the EUGCM, which includes a parametrization of gravity waves with a non-zero phase speed, is able to simulate clear easterly to westerly transitions as well as westerlies with down-ward propagation. Thermal damping is also important for the westerly forcing in the stratosphere.Key words. Meteorology and atmospheric dynamics (middle atmosphere dynamics; tropical meterology; waves and tides)

Atmospheres in Radiative Equilibrium

1989 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. M. Goody ◽  
Y. L. Yung
Keyword(s):  
General Circulation ◽  
Numerical Solutions ◽  
Middle Atmosphere ◽  
General Circulation Models ◽  
Stellar Atmospheres ◽  
Atmospheric Composition ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Planetary Scale ◽  
Primitive Atmosphere ◽  
Equilibrium Calculations

In this chapter we discuss radiative equilibrium models of the earth’s atmosphere and the closely related radiative—convective models, for which small-scale convection is included in a highly parameterized form. In both cases, heat transports by planetary-scale motions are neglected. Despite their limitations, radiative equilibrium and radiativeconvective studies have provided stimuli for many of the fundamental ideas discussed in this book. Their value is principally heuristic. The radiative equilibrium state is one conceivable state of a planetary atmosphere that may be analyzed so that the implications of parameteric changes can be understood in simple terms (e.g., changes in atmospheric composition, earth orbital elements, solar emission, etc.). The same cannot yet be said of any dynamic model. While numerical solutions are available from general circulation models, their behavior is often no easier to interpret than that of the atmosphere itself. For studies that are not based on the existence of day-to-day observations, radiative equilibrium considerations provide the irreplaceable first step in a number of fields: the atmospheres of other planets, stellar atmospheres, the earth’s primitive atmosphere; and much of the progress in studies of climate change has been based on the simplest energy balance models. In addition to their value in examining general principles, there is a recurrent, although disputed theme that radiative equilibrium has direct relevance to the observed atmospheric structure. This proposition embraces a number of instructive ideas but, before examining them, we consider some of the observational evidence that motivates them. From the earliest days following the discovery of the stratosphere, theoretical workers assumed that the stratosphere, unlike the troposphere, was in radiative equilibrium. The reasoning was that no forms of heat transport, other than radiative, could be important in a highly stable atmosphere. Since nothing was known about planetary-scale motions at that time, this conclusion was premature. If we turn to modern data, Fig. 9.1a presents the observed climatological temperatures in the middle atmosphere, to be compared with radiative equilibrium calculations shown in Fig. 9.1b. Agreement between theory and observation is fairly good except in the region of the polar winter.

scholarly journals Gravity wave exclusion circles in background flows modulated by the semidiurnal tide

1996 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 557-565 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Zhong ◽  
A. H. Manson ◽  
L. J. Sonmor ◽  
C. E. Meek
Keyword(s):  
Gravity Waves ◽  
Middle Atmosphere ◽  
Phase Speed ◽  
Realistic Model ◽  
Short Paper ◽  
Time Varying ◽  
Semidiurnal Tide ◽  
Directional Filtering ◽  
Propagating Waves ◽  
Stratospheric Wind

Abstract. In this short paper the exclusion circles and vertical phase locities for gravity waves launched from the ground into a time-varying wind are studied using a ray-tracing technique. It is shown that waves with initial observed phase speeds that should place them within the local temporally varying exclusion circle, are often Doppler shifted outside of the circle. This, and the finite lifetime of some critical levels, allow waves to survive the critical layer and reach higher altitudes. Also, for slower phase-speed waves, the temporally varying wind can shift the observed frequency to negative values, so that the observed phase motions will be opposite (i.e. horizontally reversed and vertically upward), even though the energy still propagates upward. This effect can also cause the phase velocity to move inside the local exclusion circle. Due to the directional filtering of wave sources by the stratospheric wind, the percentage of such reverse-propagating waves will change systematically with local time and height in our simplified but realistic model. These results are related to ground-based systems, optical and radar, which sample the wind field and gravity waves in the middle atmosphere.

Self-Acceleration in the Parameterization of Orographic Gravity Wave Drag

2010 ◽  
Vol 67 (8) ◽  
pp. 2537-2546 ◽  
Author(s):  
John F. Scinocca ◽  
Bruce R. Sutherland
Keyword(s):  
Gravity Wave ◽  
Middle Atmosphere ◽  
Wave Train ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Wave Theory ◽  
Wave Drag ◽  
Tuning Parameter ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Propagating Waves ◽  
The Impact

Abstract A new effect related to the evaluation of momentum deposition in conventional parameterizations of orographic gravity wave drag (GWD) is considered. The effect takes the form of an adjustment to the basic-state wind about which steady-state wave solutions are constructed. The adjustment is conservative and follows from wave–mean flow theory associated with wave transience at the leading edge of the wave train, which sets up the steady solution assumed in such parameterizations. This has been referred to as “self-acceleration” and it is shown to induce a systematic lowering of the elevation of momentum deposition, which depends quadratically on the amplitude of the wave. An expression for the leading-order impact of self-acceleration is derived in terms of a reduction of the critical inverse Froude number Fc, which determines the onset of wave breaking for upwardly propagating waves in orographic GWD schemes. In such schemes Fc is a central tuning parameter and typical values are generally smaller than anticipated from conventional wave theory. Here it is suggested that self-acceleration may provide some of the explanation for why such small values of Fc are required. The impact of Fc on present-day climate is illustrated by simulations of the Canadian Middle Atmosphere Model.

scholarly journals Observation of Kelvin–Helmholtz instabilities and gravity waves in the summer mesopause above Andenes in Northern Norway

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 6721-6732 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gunter Stober ◽  
Svenja Sommer ◽  
Carsten Schult ◽  
Ralph Latteck ◽  
Jorge L. Chau
Keyword(s):  
Gravity Waves ◽  
Middle Atmosphere ◽  
Phase Speed ◽  
Velocity Measurements ◽  
Wind Variability ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Strong Shear ◽  
Summer Echoes ◽  
Period Wave ◽  
Horizontal Wavelength

Abstract. We present observations obtained with the Middle Atmosphere Alomar Radar System (MAARSY) to investigate short-period wave-like features using polar mesospheric summer echoes (PMSEs) as a tracer for the neutral dynamics. We conducted a multibeam experiment including 67 different beam directions during a 9-day campaign in June 2013. We identified two Kelvin–Helmholtz instability (KHI) events from the signal morphology of PMSE. The MAARSY observations are complemented by collocated meteor radar wind data to determine the mesoscale gravity wave activity and the vertical structure of the wind field above the PMSE. The KHIs occurred in a strong shear flow with Richardson numbers Ri < 0.25. In addition, we observed 15 wave-like events in our MAARSY multibeam observations applying a sophisticated decomposition of the radial velocity measurements using volume velocity processing. We retrieved the horizontal wavelength, intrinsic frequency, propagation direction, and phase speed from the horizontally resolved wind variability for 15 events. These events showed horizontal wavelengths between 20 and 40 km, vertical wavelengths between 5 and 10 km, and rather high intrinsic phase speeds between 45 and 85 m s−1 with intrinsic periods of 5–10 min.

scholarly journals Recent Dynamic Studies on the Middle Atmosphere at Mid- and Low-Latitudes Using Rayleigh Lidar and Other Technologies

2018 ◽  
pp. 757-776
Author(s):  
Alain Hauchecorne ◽  
Sergey Khaykin ◽  
Philippe Keckhut ◽  
Nahoudha Mzé ◽  
Guillaume Angot ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Middle Atmosphere ◽  
Dynamic Studies ◽  
Low Latitudes ◽  
Rayleigh Lidar

scholarly journals Instabilities of continuously stratified zonal equatorial jets in a periodic channel model

2002 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 729-740 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Masina
Keyword(s):  
Channel Model ◽  
Baroclinic Instability ◽  
Phase Speed ◽  
Maximum Velocity ◽  
Equatorial Region ◽  
Eastern Pacific ◽  
Vertical Shear ◽  
Coriolis Parameter ◽  
Vertical Scale ◽  
Surface Jet

Abstract. Several numerical experiments are performed in a nonlinear, multi-level periodic channel model centered on the equator with different zonally uniform background flows which resemble the South Equatorial Current (SEC). Analysis of the simulations focuses on identifying stability criteria for a continuously stratified fluid near the equator. A 90 m deep frontal layer is required to destabilize a zonally uniform, 10° wide, westward surface jet that is symmetric about the equator and has a maximum velocity of 100 cm/s. In this case, the phase velocity of the excited unstable waves is very similar to the phase speed of the Tropical Instability Waves (TIWs) observed in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The vertical scale of the baroclinic waves corresponds to the frontal layer depth and their phase speed increases as the vertical shear of the jet is doubled. When the westward surface parabolic jet is made asymmetric about the equator, in order to simulate more realistically the structure of the SEC in the eastern Pacific, two kinds of instability are generated. The oscillations that grow north of the equator have a baroclinic nature, while those generated on and very close to the equator have a barotropic nature.  This study shows that the potential for baroclinic instability in the equatorial region can be as large as at mid-latitudes, if the tendency of isotherms to have a smaller slope for a given zonal velocity, when the Coriolis parameter vanishes, is compensated for by the wind effect.Key words. Oceanography: general (equatorial oceanography; numerical modeling) – Oceanography: physics (fronts and jets)

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document