Dynamical diagnostics of the edges of the polar vortices

Details Dynamical diagnostics of the edges of the polar vortices Dynamical diagnostics of the edges of the polar vortices

Nov 1994

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1994angeo..12.1114r&link_type=abstract

Annales Geophysicae (ISSN 0992-7689), vol. 12, no. 10-11, p. 1114-1118

Physics

10

Antarctic Regions, Arctic Regions, Edges, Isentropic Processes, Solar Wind, Stratosphere, Vortices, Chemical Properties, Perturbation, Potential Fields, Winter

Scientific paper

The dynamically induced statospheric polar vortices are major factors in the formation and evolution of large chemically perturbed regions in both hemispheres during respective winter months. For a proper understanding of the physicochemical processes in polar stratospheres, it is necessary to be able to keep track of the extents and positions of the polar vortices. This has often been done with the help of the maximum gradient of Ertel's potential vorticity (PV) on isentropic surfaces, which should bring out the edges of a polar vortex. The approaches have, however, been mostly qualitative in nature. In this work, we define the edges of the polar vortices during one Antarctic and two Arctic winters on two stratospheric levels with the help of ECMWF global initialized analysis fields. Our definition of a polar vortex is based on isentropic total wind maxima at successive 1.5 deg longitude bins encircling the respective pole. A retrieval of the isentropic PV values along the diagnosed vortex edges permits us to subsequently perform a quantitative comparison between vortex edge defined by the total wind maxima, and the variability of isentropic PV values there. It appears that one is able to assign discrete ranges of PV for diagnosing the edges of the polar vortices. However, such ranges exhibit variability on time scales longer than a few months, as well as between individual winters. This should be taken into account when using PV in the interpretation of experimental data.

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