Physics
Scientific paper
Dec 2005
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2005agufm.p21e..05b&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2005, abstract #P21E-05
Physics
3346 Planetary Meteorology (5445, 5739), 3364 Synoptic-Scale Meteorology, 5405 Atmospheres (0343, 1060), 5445 Meteorology (3346), 6225 Mars
Scientific paper
Analyses of MGS TES temperature data have characterized transient eddy activity in the fall, winter, and spring seasons in the northern and southern hemispheres. This activity is generally much stronger in the north than in the south, though it is fairly strong in the middle and late southern winter season. In both hemispheres the transient eddy activity tends to be considerably higher in certain longitudinal regions - storm zones. In the north the storm zones tend to coincide with the lowland regions of Acidalia, Utopia, and Arcadia (though there are deviations from this pattern), while in the south the storm zone lies in the western hemisphere and is most intense in the longitudinal region containing the southern extension of Tharsis and the Argyre basin. In the north the storm zones extend to high altitudes, especially during winter under relatively dusty conditions - when the eddies have a very deep vertical structure. In the south, the upper level eddy activity tends to be much more longitudinally uniform than it is at lower levels. Beyond a full description of the storm zone structure in both hemispheres, it is important to gain a basic understanding of the dynamics underlying the storm zones. Previous modeling work has shown a tendency for the northern storm zones to be located in the lowland regions, but the dynamical reasons for this are not clear. Direct effects of topography could be important, with one of these being that topography sloping strongly downwards towards the pole may act to inhibit the development of transient eddies - as predicted by linear instability theory and modeling. The topography acts to force large-amplitude quasi-stationary eddies in both winter hemispheres, and these eddies may play a very important role in determining the locations of the storm zones. Analyses of the TES data indicate that the locations of the upper level storm zones in northern winter tend to coincide with regions in which the temperature pattern associated with the quasi-stationary eddies enhances the meridional temperature gradient. This would be expected to favor the amplification of the transient eddies in these regions. In the south, however, the storm zone does not exist in the region in which the meridional temperature gradient is strongest. Instead it exists in a broad trough region of the mean flow. Lee side cyclogenesis may be playing a key role in the south; this process may also be important in the north. In the south, the persistent presence of a very strong upper level anticyclone in the vicinity of Hellas may inhibit the development of transient eddies.
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