PV-θ view of the zonal mean state of the atmosphere

Aarnout J. van Delden; Yvonne B. L. Hinssen

doi:10.3402/tellusa.v64i0.18710

PV-θ view of the zonal mean state of the atmosphere

Tellus

Volume 64 (2012): Issue 1

By: Aarnout J. van Delden and Yvonne B. L. Hinssen

Open Access

|Dec 2012

Abstract

The relation between zonal mean potential vorticity (PV) in potential temperature (θ) coordinates and the zonal mean zonal wind in January and in July is studied. PV-anomalies are defined with respect to a reference state that is at rest with respect to the rotating earth. Two important PV-anomalies are identified. One PV-anomaly, the ‘Ex-UTLS PV-anomaly’, coincides approximately with the extratropical tropopause (310–360 K). It is a permanent feature of the zonal mean state. The other PV-anomaly is located higher in the stratosphere. It exhibits a strong seasonal cycle, i.e. in winter, it is strongly positive, while in summer, it is weakly negative. In the Northern Hemisphere winter, the Ex-UTLS PV-anomaly and the stratospheric PV-anomaly are separated by a ‘surf-zone’, which is characterised by a negative PV-anomaly pole-wards of a positive PV-anomaly. Piecewise PV-inversion reveals that (1) the Ex-UTLS PV-anomaly induces the westerly winds in the troposphere and the lower stratosphere, including the subtropical jet, that (2) the positive stratospheric PV-anomaly induces the stratospheric polar night jet and that (3) the negative polar cap stratospheric PV-anomaly in summer reduces the westerly wind speeds in the troposphere and induces easterly winds in the stratosphere. The Ex-UTLS PV-anomaly is manifest mainly as an isentropic density- (or mass-) anomaly. Piecewise PV-inversion of these anomalies in isolation should account for this by an appropriate adjustment of the lower boundary condition.

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