On the Distribution of Temperature Relative to Height in Stationary Planetary Wave?

It is shown that some gross features of the distribution of the mean temperature relative to the mean height on the normal maps for January can be computed from the vertically integrated linearized vorticity equation, if the effects of surface friction and mountains are included in the equation for the stationary case. By a mathematical analysis supplemented by certain numerical experiments it is shown that it is necessary to assume a meridional scale parameter corresponding to less than 90 degrees of latitude in order to obtain the correct phase-lag. An empirical determination of the meridional wave-length was carried out using 500 mb data for a single month (January 1959).

Section 6 contains some comments on the assumptions made in this study. It is especially pointed out that the effect of horizontal advection of vorticity and the effects of the lower boundary condition (friction and topography) cannot be neglected in comparison with the beta-effect in studies of stationary motion on the planetary scale.