Characteristics of atmospheric gravity wave activity in the polar regions revealed by GPS radio occultation data with CHAMP

Mathematics – Logic

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

16

Atmospheric Processes: Middle Atmosphere Dynamics (0341, 0342), Atmospheric Processes: Polar Meteorology, Atmospheric Processes: Instruments And Techniques, Atmospheric Processes: Acoustic-Gravity Waves, Radio Science: Remote Sensing

Scientific paper

Using GPS radio occultation data during 2001-2005, we studied the climatological behavior of atmospheric gravity waves in the polar stratosphere. We calculated temperature fluctuations with vertical wavelengths shorter than 7 km and then determined the wave potential energy, E p , every month in a longitude-latitude cell of 20° × 10° between 12 km and 33 km. In the Arctic region (50-90°N), E p shows an annual variation with maximum in winter, consistent with the zonal mean horizontal wind, V, and the Eliassen-Palm (E-P) flux, F z . The large F z values indicate higher planetary wave activity, resulting in distortion of the polar vortex. The unbalanced flow can then excite gravity waves through geostrophic adjustment. In the Antarctic region (50-90°S), E p gradually increases during winter and reaches its maximum in spring before decreasing rapidly. The time derivative of V coincides with the E p peak and the horizontal distribution of E p has a similar structure to V, suggesting that the E p enhancement is closely related to the decay of the polar vortex. During major warming events over the Arctic, the divergence of E-P flux, ΔF, was enhanced, coinciding with large E p . In the Antarctic, ΔF strongly correlates with E p in spring. Gravity waves seem to be effectively generated through planetary wave transience and/or breaking. Orographic generation of gravity waves seems to be important in limited areas only, such as Scandinavia and the Antarctic Peninsula, showing that it is less important than the polar night jet in determining the climatological behavior of gravity waves.

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

Characteristics of atmospheric gravity wave activity in the polar regions revealed by GPS radio occultation data with CHAMP does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Characteristics of atmospheric gravity wave activity in the polar regions revealed by GPS radio occultation data with CHAMP, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Characteristics of atmospheric gravity wave activity in the polar regions revealed by GPS radio occultation data with CHAMP will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1323505

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.