Relation between the meridional distribution of potential vorticity and the Lagrangian mean circulation in the troposphere

The meridional distribution of potential vorticity (PV) in the troposphere is examined in terms of the Lagrangian transport by using an idealistic general circulation model. A zonally uniform forcing and uniform boundary conditions are applied to the model to particularly examine the PV structure in the mid-latitudes and the subtropics. Trajectories of air parcels released from each grid point of the model and Lagrangian changes in PV are calculated for a period of 60 days. Values of PV of each parcel are changing along the Lagrangian motions due to the diabatic effect, the frictional effect and the mixing effect which has smaller scales than those resolvable in the model. Both diabatic and frictional effects are dominant in the lower layers, and the mixing effect is larger in the other regions. It is found that the zonal mean PV changes have different characteristics between the “Underworld” in which isentropes intersect the ground and the “Middleworld” in which isentropes are above the ground and intersect the tropopause. In the Underworld, the zonal mean PV changes are determined by the equatorial flow in the lower layers. In particular, the PV changes are negative in the lower layers of the low- and the mid-latitudes. (The sign of PV tendency is for the northern hemisphere. The southern hemispheric tendency is opposite as in the followings.) This negative tendency is due to the diabatic effect near the surface. In the Middle world, there remain positive and negative tendency regions, which are resulted from the isentropic mixing. In general, if a parcel moves poleward in the mid-latitudes, the value of PV increases, whereas the value of PV decreases if a parcel moves equatorward. The sign of the Lagrangian mean change in PV corresponds to whether the Lagrangian mean motions cross the PV contours equatorward or poleward in the meridional plane. In particular, the contour of no change in PV has a similar shape to that of meridional distribution of PV in the mid-latitudes. This indicates that the directions of the Lagrangian mean motions are very close to those of the isolines of PV at the points on this contour.