scholarly journals Contributions of Individual Atmospheric Diabatic Heating Processes to the Generation of Available Potential Energy

2013 ◽  
Vol 26 (12) ◽  
pp. 4244-4263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joy Romanski ◽  
William B. Rossow
Keyword(s):  
Potential Energy ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Diabatic Heating ◽  
Temporal Distribution ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Radiative Fluxes ◽  
Available Potential Energy ◽  
Summer Hemisphere ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
The Individual

Abstract The generation of zonal and eddy available potential energy (Gz and Ge) as formulated by Lorenz are computed on a global-, daily-, and synoptic-scale basis to consider the contribution of each diabatic heating component separately and in combination. Using global, mostly satellite-derived datasets for the diabatic heating components and the temperature enables us to obtain Gz and, especially, Ge from observations for the first time and at higher temporal and spatial resolution than previously possible. The role of clouds in maintaining G is investigated. The global annual mean Gz is 1.52 W m−2. Values reach a minimum of 0.63 W m−2 in the Northern Hemisphere during spring and a maximum of 2.27 W m−2 in the Southern Hemisphere during winter. The largest contributors to Gz are latent heating in the tropical upper troposphere, associated with the intertropical convergence zone in the summer hemisphere and surface sensible heat fluxes in the winter pole. Diabatic cooling by radiative fluxes (mostly longwave) generally destroys Gz. The value of Ge is negative and is about an order of magnitude smaller than Gz, with a global annual mean of −0.29 W m−2. However, the small value of Ge results from the cancellation of the contributions from the individual diabatic heating terms, which are actually roughly similar in magnitude to their Gz contributions. The results presented herein suggest that the large-scale dynamics of the atmosphere organize the spatial and temporal distribution of clouds and precipitation in such a way as to increase the energy available to drive the circulation, a kind of positive feedback.

Study of the Mechanisms of Vortex Variability in the Lofoten Basin Based on the Energy Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
V. S. Travkin ◽  
◽  
T. V. Belonenko ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Potential Energy ◽  
Baroclinic Instability ◽  
Positive Trend ◽  
Barotropic Instability ◽  
Available Potential Energy ◽  
Conversion Rates ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Mean Kinetic Energy

Purpose. The Lofoten Basin is one of the most energetic zones of the World Ocean characterized by high activity of mesoscale eddies. The study is aimed at analyzing different components of general energy in the basin, namely the mean kinetic and vortex kinetic energy calculated using the integral of the volume of available potential and kinetic energy of the Lofoten Vortex, as well as variability of these characteristics. Methods and Results. GLORYS12V1 reanalysis data for the period 2010–2018 were used. The mean kinetic energy and the eddy kinetic one were analyzed; and as for the Lofoten Vortex, its volume available potential and kinetic energy were studied. The mesoscale activity of eddies in winter is higher than in summer. Evolution of the available potential energy and kinetic energy of the Lofoten Vortex up to the 1000 m horizon was studied. It is shown that the vortex available potential energy exceeds the kinetic one by an order of magnitude, and there is a positive trend with the coefficient 0,23⋅1015 J/year. It was found that in the Lofoten Basin, the intermediate layer from 600 to 900 m made the largest contribution to the potential energy, whereas the 0–400 m layer – to kinetic energy. The conversion rates of the mean kinetic energy into the vortex kinetic one and the mean available potential energy into the vortex available potential one (barotropic and baroclinic instability) were analyzed. It is shown that the first type of transformation dominates in summer, while the second one is characterized by its increase in winter. Conclusions. The vertical profile shows that the kinetic energy of eddies in winter is higher than in summer. The available potential energy of a vortex is by an order of magnitude greater than the kinetic energy. An increase in the available potential energy is confirmed by a significant positive trend and by a decrease in the vortex Burger number. The graphs of the barotropic instability conversion rate demonstrate the multidirectional flows in the vortex zone with the dipole structure observed in a winter period, and the tripole one – in summer. The barotropic instability highest intensity is observed in summer. The baroclinic instability is characterized by intensification of the regime in winter that is associated with weakening of stratification in this period owing to winter convection.

A Comparison of Southern Ocean Air–Sea Buoyancy Flux from an Ocean State Estimate with Five Other Products

2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (24) ◽  
pp. 6283-6306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivana Cerovečki ◽  
Lynne D. Talley ◽  
Matthew R. Mazloff
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flux ◽  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Heat Loss ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Buoyancy Flux ◽  
Western Boundary ◽  
Turbulent Heat ◽  
Radiative Fluxes ◽  
State Estimate

Abstract The authors have intercompared the following six surface buoyancy flux estimates, averaged over the years 2005–07: two reanalyses [the recent ECMWF reanalysis (ERA-Interim; hereafter ERA), and the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP)–NCAR reanalysis 1 (hereafter NCEP1)], two recent flux products developed as an improvement of NCEP1 [the flux product by Large and Yeager and the Southern Ocean State Estimate (SOSE)], and two ad hoc air–sea flux estimates that are obtained by combining the NCEP1 or ERA net radiative fluxes with turbulent flux estimates using the Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Response Experiment (COARE) 3.0 bulk formulas with NCEP1 or ERA input variables. The accuracy of SOSE adjustments of NCEP1 atmospheric fields (which SOSE uses as an initial guess and a constraint) was assessed by verification that SOSE reduces the biases in the NCEP1 fluxes as diagnosed by the Working Group on Air–Sea Fluxes (Taylor), suggesting that oceanic observations may be a valuable constraint to improve atmospheric variables. Compared with NCEP1, both SOSE and Large and Yeager increase the net ocean heat loss in high latitudes, decrease ocean heat loss in the subtropical Indian Ocean, decrease net evaporation in the subtropics, and decrease net precipitation in polar latitudes. The large-scale pattern of SOSE and Large and Yeager turbulent heat flux adjustment is similar, but the magnitude of SOSE adjustments is significantly larger. Their radiative heat flux adjustments patterns differ. Turbulent heat fluxes determined by combining COARE bulk formulas with NCEP1 or ERA should not be combined with unmodified NCEP1 or ERA radiative fluxes as the net ocean heat gain poleward of 25°S becomes unrealistically large. The other surface flux products (i.e., NCEP1, ERA, Large and Yeager, and SOSE) balance more closely. Overall, the statistical estimates of the differences between the various air–sea heat flux products tend to be largest in regions with strong ocean mesoscale activity such as the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and the western boundary currents.

scholarly journals Direct and Indirect Effects of Surface Fluxes on Moist Baroclinic Development in an Idealized Framework

2020 ◽  
Vol 77 (9) ◽  
pp. 3211-3225
Author(s):  
Kristine F. Haualand ◽  
Thomas Spengler
Keyword(s):  
Potential Energy ◽  
Latent Heat ◽  
Indirect Effects ◽  
Level Structure ◽  
Conveyor Belt ◽  
Surface Fluxes ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Latent Heating ◽  
Sensible Heat ◽  
Available Potential Energy

Abstract The convoluted role of surface sensible and latent heat fluxes on moist baroclinic development demands a better understanding to disentangle their local and remote effects. Including diabatic effects in the Eady model, the direct effects of surface fluxes on the diabatic generation of eddy available potential energy as well as their indirect effects through modifications of the circulation and latent heating are investigated. It is shown that surface sensible heat fluxes have a minor impact, irrespective of their position and parameterization, while latent heating in the region equivalent to the warm conveyor belt is the dominant diabatic source for development. Downward surface sensible heat fluxes in proximity of the warm conveyor belt results in structural modifications that increase the conversion from basic-state available potential energy to eddy available potential energy, while concomitantly weakening the ascent and hence latent heating. The detrimental effects are easily compensated through provision of additional moisture into the warm conveyor belt. Upward surface heat fluxes in the cold sector, on the other hand, are detrimental to growth. When downward (upward) surface sensible heat fluxes are located below the equivalent of the warm conveyor belt, the diabatically induced PV anomaly at the bottom of the latent heating layer becomes dominant (less dominant). Shifting the downward surface sensible heat fluxes away from the warm conveyor belt results in substantial changes in the growth rate, latent heat release, low-level structure, and energetics, where the effect of surface sensible heat fluxes might even be beneficial.

Contributions to the growth and decay of large-scale eddy available potential energy

Tellus ◽  
1978 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 383-391 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.-Y. Tsay ◽  
C.-N. Chi ◽  
S. K. Kao
Keyword(s):  
Potential Energy ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Available Potential Energy

scholarly journals The budget of local available potential energy of low-frequency eddies in Northern Hemispheric winter

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-46
Author(s):  
Xianglin Dai ◽  
Yang Zhang ◽  
Xiu-Qun Yang
Keyword(s):  
Potential Energy ◽  
Energy Budget ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Vertical Structure ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Available Potential Energy ◽  
Background Temperature ◽  
Northern Hemispheric ◽  
Climate Events

AbstractLow-frequency (LF) transient eddies (intra-seasonal eddies with time scales longer than 10 days) is increasingly found important in large-scale atmospheric circulations, high-impact climate events and subseasonal-to-seasonal forecast. In this study, features and the maintenance of available potential energy of LF eddies (LF EAPE), which denotes LF temperature fluctuations, have been investigated. Our study shows that wintertime LF EAPE, with greater amplitude than that of the extensively studied high-frequency (HF) eddies, exhibits distinct horizontal and vertical structures. Different from HF eddies, whose action centers are over midlatitude oceans, the LF EAPE is most active in the continents in midlatitude, as well as the subpolar region with shallower vertical structure. By diagnosing the derived energy budget of LF EAPE, we find that, with the strong background temperature gradient in mid- and high-latitude continents (e.g. coast regions along Greenland-Barents-Kara sea), baroclinic generation is the major source of LF EAPE. The generated LF EAPE in the subpolar region is transported downstream and southward to midlatitude continents via background flow. The generated LF EAPE is also dissipated by HF eddies, damped by diabatic effect and converted to LF EKE via vertical motions. The above energy budget, together with the barotropic dynamics revealed by previousworks, suggests multiple energy sources thus complicated dynamics of LF variabilities.

scholarly journals Contributions to the growth and decay of large-scale eddy available potential energy

Tellus ◽  
1978 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 383-391 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. -Y. Tsay ◽  
C. -N. Chi ◽  
S. K. Kao
Keyword(s):  
Potential Energy ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Available Potential Energy

scholarly journals On the Local View of Atmospheric Available Potential Energy

2018 ◽  
Vol 75 (6) ◽  
pp. 1891-1907 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lenka Novak ◽  
Rémi Tailleux
Keyword(s):  
Potential Energy ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Storm Track ◽  
Specific Enthalpy ◽  
Local Form ◽  
Available Potential Energy ◽  
Local Principle ◽  
Local View

Abstract The possibility of constructing Lorenz’s concept of available potential energy (APE) from a local principle has been known for some time, but it has received very little attention so far. Yet the local APE density framework offers the advantage of providing a positive-definite local form of potential energy, which, like kinetic energy, can be transported, converted, and created or dissipated locally. In contrast to Lorenz’s definition, which relies on the exact from of potential energy, the local APE density theory uses the particular form of potential energy appropriate to the approximations considered. In this paper, this idea is illustrated for the dry hydrostatic primitive equations, whose relevant form of potential energy is the specific enthalpy. The local APE density is nonquadratic in general but can nevertheless be partitioned exactly into mean and eddy components regardless of the Reynolds averaging operator used. This paper introduces a new form of the local APE density that is easily computable from atmospheric datasets. The advantages of using the local APE density over the classical Lorenz APE are highlighted. The paper also presents the first calculation of the three-dimensional local APE density in observation-based atmospheric data. Finally, it illustrates how the eddy and mean components of the local APE density can be used to study regional and temporal variability in the large-scale circulation. It is revealed that advection from high latitudes is necessary to supply APE into the storm-track regions, and that Greenland and the Ross Sea, which have suffered from rapid land ice and sea ice loss in recent decades, are particularly susceptible to APE variability.

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