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1
Döös, Kristofer, Joakim Kjellsson, Jan Zika, Frédéric Laliberté, Laurent Brodeau, and Aitor Aldama Campino. "The Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Hydrothermohaline Circulation." Journal of Climate 30, no. 2 (January 2017): 631–47. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-15-0759.1.
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The thermohaline circulation of the ocean is compared to the hydrothermal circulation of the atmosphere. The oceanic thermohaline circulation is expressed in potential temperature–absolute salinity space and comprises a tropical cell, a conveyor belt cell, and a polar cell, whereas the atmospheric hydrothermal circulation is expressed in potential temperature–specific humidity space and unifies the tropical Hadley and Walker cells as well as the midlatitude eddies into a single, global circulation. The oceanic thermohaline streamfunction makes it possible to analyze and quantify the entire World Ocean conversion rate between cold–warm and fresh–saline waters in one single representation. Its atmospheric analog, the hydrothermal streamfunction, instead captures the conversion rate between cold–warm and dry–humid air in one single representation. It is shown that the ocean thermohaline and the atmospheric hydrothermal cells are connected by the exchange of heat and freshwater through the sea surface. The two circulations are compared on the same diagram by scaling the axes such that the latent heat energy required to move an air parcel on the moisture axis is equivalent to that needed to move a water parcel on the salinity axis. Such a comparison leads the authors to propose that the Clausius–Clapeyron relationship guides both the moist branch of the atmospheric hydrothermal circulation and the warming branches of the tropical and conveyor belt cells of the oceanic thermohaline circulation.
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Gastineau, Guillaume, Laurent Li, and Hervé Le Treut. "Some Atmospheric Processes Governing the Large-Scale Tropical Circulation in Idealized Aquaplanet Simulations." Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 68, no. 3 (March 1, 2011): 553–75. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/2010jas3439.1.
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Abstract The large-scale tropical atmospheric circulation is analyzed in idealized aquaplanet simulations using an atmospheric general circulation model. Idealized sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are used as lower-boundary conditions to provoke modifications of the atmospheric general circulation. Results show that 1) an increase in the meridional SST gradients of the tropical region drastically strengthens the Hadley circulation intensity, 2) the presence of equatorial zonal SST anomalies weakens the Hadley cells and reinforces the Walker circulation, and 3) a uniform SST warming causes small and nonsystematic changes of the Hadley and Walker circulations. In all simulations, the jet streams strengthen and move equatorward as the Hadley cells strengthen and become narrower. Some relevant mechanisms are then proposed to interpret the large range of behaviors obtained from the simulations. First, the zonal momentum transport by transient and stationary eddies is shown to modulate the eddy-driven jets, which causes the poleward displacements of the jet streams. Second, it is found that the Hadley circulation adjusts to the changes of the poleward moist static energy flux and gross moist static stability, associated with the geographical distribution of convection and midlatitude eddies. The Walker circulation intensity corresponds to the zonal moist static energy transport induced by the zonal anomalies of the turbulent fluxes and radiative cooling. These experiments provide some hints to understand a few robust changes of the atmospheric circulation simulated by ocean–atmosphere coupled models for future and past climates.
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Schmidt, Jerome M., Piotr J. Flatau, and Robert D. Yates. "Convective Cells in Altocumulus Observed with a High-Resolution Radar." Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 71, no. 6 (May 30, 2014): 2130–54. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jas-d-13-0172.1.
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Abstract Very-high-resolution Doppler radar observations are used together with aircraft measurements to document the dynamic and thermodynamic structure of a dissipating altocumulus cloud system associated with a deep virga layer. The cloud layer circulation is shown to consist of shallow vertical velocity couplets near cloud top and a series of subkilometer-scale Rayleigh–Bénard-like cells that extend vertically through the depth of the cloud layer. The subcloud layer was observed to contain a number of narrow virga fall streaks that developed below the more dominant Rayleigh–Bénard updraft circulations in the cloud layer. These features were discovered to be associated with kilometer-scale horizontally orientated rotor circulations that formed along the lateral flanks of the streaks collocated downdraft circulation. The Doppler analysis further reveals that a layer mean descent was present throughout both the cloud and subcloud layers. This characteristic of the circulation is analyzed with regard to the diabatic and radiative forcing on horizontal length scales ranging from the Rayleigh–Bénard circulations to the overall cloud layer width. In particular, linear analytical results indicate that a deep and broad mesoscale region of subsidence is quickly established in middle-level cloud layers of finite width when a layer-wide horizontal gradient in the cloud-top radiative cooling rate is present. A conceptual model summarizing the primary observed and inferred circulation features of the altocumulus layer is presented.
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Guo, Anboyu, John C. Moore, and Duoying Ji. "Tropical atmospheric circulation response to the G1 sunshade geoengineering radiative forcing experiment." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 18, no. 12 (June 20, 2018): 8689–706. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-8689-2018.
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Abstract. We investigate the multi-Earth system model response of the Walker circulation and Hadley circulations under the idealized solar radiation management scenario (G1) and under abrupt4xCO2. The Walker circulation multi-model ensemble mean shows changes in some regions but no significant change in intensity under G1, while it shows a 4∘ eastward movement and 1.9 × 109 kg s−1 intensity decrease in abrupt4xCO2. Variation in the Walker circulation intensity has the same high correlation with sea surface temperature gradient between the eastern and western Pacific under both G1 and abrupt4xCO2. The Hadley circulation shows significant differences in behavior between G1 and abrupt4xCO2, with intensity reductions in the seasonal maximum northern and southern cells under G1 correlated with equatorward motion of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Southern and northern cells have a significantly different response, especially under abrupt4xCO2 when impacts on the southern Ferrel cell are particularly clear. The southern cell is about 3 % stronger under abrupt4xCO2 in July, August and September than under piControl, while the northern is reduced by 2 % in January, February and March. Both circulations are reduced under G1. There are significant relationships between northern cell intensity and land temperatures, but not for the southern cell. Changes in the meridional temperature gradients account for changes in Hadley intensity better than changes in static stability in G1 and especially in abrupt4xCO2. The difference in the response of the zonal Walker circulation and the meridional Hadley circulations under the idealized forcings may be driven by the zonal symmetric relative cooling of the tropics under G1.
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Wang, Chunzai. "Atlantic Climate Variability and Its Associated Atmospheric Circulation Cells." Journal of Climate 15, no. 13 (July 2002): 1516–36. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/1520-0442(2002)015<1516:acvaia>2.0.co;2.
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Walker, Christopher C., and Tapio Schneider. "Eddy Influences on Hadley Circulations: Simulations with an Idealized GCM." Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 63, no. 12 (December 2006): 3333–50. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jas3821.1.
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An idealized GCM is used to investigate how the strength and meridional extent of the Hadley circulation depend on the planet radius, rotation rate, and thermal driving. Over wide parameter ranges, the strength and meridional extent of the Hadley circulation display clear scaling relations with regime transitions, which are not predicted by existing theories of axisymmetric Hadley circulations. For example, the scaling of the strength as a function of the radiative-equilibrium equator-to-pole temperature contrast exhibits a regime transition corresponding to a regime transition in scaling laws of baroclinic eddy fluxes. The scaling of the strength of the cross-equatorial Hadley cell as a function of the latitude of maximum radiative-equilibrium temperature exhibits a regime transition from a regime in which eddy momentum fluxes strongly influence the strength to a regime in which the influence of eddy momentum fluxes is weak. Over a wide range of flow parameters, albeit not always, the Hadley circulation strength is directly related to the eddy momentum flux divergence at the latitude of the streamfunction extremum. Simulations with hemispherically symmetric thermal driving span circulations with local Rossby numbers in the horizontal upper branch of the Hadley circulation between 0.1 and 0.8, indicating that neither nonlinear nearly inviscid theories, valid for Ro → 1, nor linear theories, valid for Ro → 0, of axisymmetric Hadley circulations can be expected to be generally adequate. Nonlinear theories of axisymmetric Hadley circulations may account for aspects of the circulation when the maximum radiative-equilibrium temperature is displaced sufficiently far away from the equator, which results in cross-equatorial Hadley cells with nearly angular momentum-conserving upper branches. The dependence of the Hadley circulation on eddy fluxes, which are themselves dependent on extratropical circulation characteristics such as meridional temperature gradients, suggests that tropical circulations depend on the extratropical climate.
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Mendonça, João M. "Angular momentum and heat transport on tidally locked hot Jupiter planets." Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 491, no. 1 (November 4, 2019): 1456–70. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stz3050.
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ABSTRACT The atmospheric circulation in the upper atmosphere of hot Jupiter planets is strongly influenced by the incoming stellar radiation. In this work, we explore the results from a 3D atmospheric model and revisit the main processes driving the circulation in hot Jupiter planets. We use the angular momentum transport as a diagnostic and carry out a Fourier analysis to identify the atmospheric waves involved. We find that the coupling between the angular momentum transported horizontally by the semidiurnal tide and the mean circulation is the mechanism responsible for producing the strong jet at low latitudes. Our simulations indicate the possible formation of atmospheric indirect cells at low latitudes. The formation of these cells is induced by the presence of the semidiurnal tide that is driven by the stellar irradiation. The tropical circulation has an important impact transporting heat and momentum from the upper towards the lower atmosphere. One of the consequences of this heat and momentum transport is a global increase of the temperature. We show that the initial conditions do not affect the output of the reference simulation. However, when the period of rotation of the planet was increased (Prot > 5 Earth days), vertical transport by stationary waves became stronger, transient waves became non-negligible, and Coriolis influence less dominant, which allowed a steady state with a strong retrograde jet to be stable. We found that at least two statically steady state solutions exist for the same planet parameters.
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Wang, Chunzai. "Atmospheric Circulation Cells Associated with the El Niño–Southern Oscillation." Journal of Climate 15, no. 4 (February 2002): 399–419. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/1520-0442(2002)015<0399:accawt>2.0.co;2.
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Zeng, Gang, Wei-Chyung Wang, Zhaobo Sun, and Zhongxian Li. "Atmospheric circulation cells associated with anomalous east Asian winter monsoon." Advances in Atmospheric Sciences 28, no. 4 (June 23, 2011): 913–26. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00376-010-0100-6.
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Haigh, Joanna D., Michael Blackburn, and Rebecca Day. "The Response of Tropospheric Circulation to Perturbations in Lower-Stratospheric Temperature." Journal of Climate 18, no. 17 (September 1, 2005): 3672–85. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli3472.1.
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Abstract A multiple regression analysis of the NCEP–NCAR reanalysis dataset shows a response to increased solar activity of a weakening and poleward shift of the subtropical jets. This signal is separable from other influences, such as those of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), and is very similar to that seen in previous studies using global circulation models (GCMs) of the effects of an increase in solar spectral irradiance. The response to increased stratospheric (volcanic) aerosol is found in the data to be a weakening and equatorward shift of the jets. The GCM studies of the solar influence also showed an impact on tropospheric mean meridional circulation with a weakening and expansion of the tropical Hadley cells and a poleward shift of the Ferrel cells. To understand the mechanisms whereby the changes in solar irradiance affect tropospheric winds and circulation, experiments have been carried out with a simplified global circulation model. The results show that generic heating of the lower stratosphere tends to weaken the subtropical jets and the tropospheric mean meridional circulations. The positions of the jets, and the extent of the Hadley cells, respond to the distribution of the stratospheric heating, with low-latitude heating forcing them to move poleward, and high-latitude or latitudinally uniform heating forcing them equatorward. The patterns of response are similar to those that are found to be a result of the solar or volcanic influences, respectively, in the data analysis. This demonstrates that perturbations to the heat balance of the lower stratosphere, such as those brought about by solar or volcanic activity, can produce changes in the mean tropospheric circulation, even without any direct forcing below the tropopause.
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Cai, Ming, and Chul-Su Shin. "A Total Flow Perspective of Atmospheric Mass and Angular Momentum Circulations: Boreal Winter Mean State." Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 71, no. 6 (May 30, 2014): 2244–63. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jas-d-13-0175.1.
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Abstract This paper reports a comprehensive diagnostic analysis of mass and angular momentum (AM) circulations and their budgets in boreal winter using the 32-yr daily NCEP–Department of Energy (DOE) reanalysis (1979–2010). The diagnosis is performed using instantaneous total flows before taking time and zonal average without decomposition of time mean and transient flows and separation of zonal mean and wavy flows. The analysis reveals that embedded in a broad hemispheric thermally direct meridional mass circulation in each hemisphere are three distinct but interconnected thermally direct meridional cells. They are the tropical Hadley cell, the stratospheric cell, and the extratropical zonally asymmetric Hadley cell. The tropical Hadley cell corresponds to the Hadley cell of the classic three-cell model whereas the extratropical Hadley cell and the stratospheric cell correspond to the eddy-driven extratropical residual circulation. The joint consideration of meridional mass and AM circulations helps to substantiate Hadley’s original view that the hemispheric-wide thermally direct meridional circulation can have broad surface easterly in the tropics and westerly in the extratropics. Because the mass circulation cannot have a net divergence anywhere in long time mean and the earth’s AM decreases toward the poles, the companion AM transport in the equatorward cold air branch inevitably has to be divergent. The downward transfer of westerly AM to the cold air branch by the pressure torque associated with westward tilted baroclinic waves dominates such divergence in the extratropics, explaining the prevailing surface westerly there. In the tropics and polar region where the meridional circulation is nearly zonally symmetric, the dominance of this divergence results in a surface easterly there.
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Lutsko, Nicholas J., John Marshall, and Brian Green. "Modulation of Monsoon Circulations by Cross-Equatorial Ocean Heat Transport." Journal of Climate 32, no. 12 (May 22, 2019): 3471–85. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-18-0623.1.
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Abstract Motivated by observations of southward ocean heat transport (OHT) in the northern Indian Ocean during summer, the role of the ocean in modulating monsoon circulations is explored by coupling an atmospheric model to a slab ocean with an interactive representation of OHT and an idealized subtropical continent. Southward OHT by the cross-equatorial cells is caused by Ekman flow driven by southwesterly monsoon winds in the summer months, cooling sea surface temperatures (SSTs) south of the continent. This increases the reversed meridional surface gradient of moist static energy, shifting the precipitation maximum over the land and strengthening the monsoonal circulation, in the sense of enhancing the vertical wind shear. However, the atmosphere’s cross-equatorial meridional overturning circulation is also weakened by the presence of southward OHT, as the atmosphere is required to transport less energy across the equator. The sensitivity of these effects to varying the strength of the OHT, fixing the OHT at its annual-mean value, and to removing the land is explored. Comparisons with more realistic models suggest that the idealized model used in this study produces a reasonable representation of the effect of OHT on SSTs equatorward of subtropical continents, and hence can be used to study the role of OHT in shaping monsoon circulations on Earth.
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Severijns, C. A., and W. Hazeleger. "Optimizing Parameters in an Atmospheric General Circulation Model." Journal of Climate 18, no. 17 (September 1, 2005): 3527–35. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli3430.1.
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Abstract An efficient method to optimize the parameter values of the subgrid parameterizations of an atmospheric general circulation model is described. The method is based on the downhill simplex minimization of a cost function computed from the difference between simulated and observed fields. It is used to find optimal values of the radiation and cloud-related parameters. The model error is reduced significantly within a limited number of iterations (about 250) of short integrations (5 yr). The method appears to be robust and finds the global minimum of the cost function. The radiation budget of the model improves considerably without violating the already well simulated general circulation. Different aspects of the general circulation, such as the Hadley and Walker cells improve, although they are not incorporated into the cost function. It is concluded that the method can be used to efficiently determine optimal parameters for general circulation models even when the model behavior has a strong nonlinear dependence on these parameters.
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Privé, Nikki C., and R. Alan Plumb. "Monsoon Dynamics with Interactive Forcing. Part I: Axisymmetric Studies." Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 64, no. 5 (May 1, 2007): 1417–30. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jas3916.1.
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Abstract The applicability of axisymmetric theory of angular momentum conserving circulations to the large-scale steady monsoon is studied in a general circulation model with idealized representations of continental geometry and simple physics. Results from an aquaplanet setup with localized subtropical forcing are compared with a continental case. It is found that the meridional circulation that develops is close to angular momentum conserving for cross-equatorial circulation cells, both in the aquaplanet and in the continental cases. The equator proves to be a substantial barrier to boundary layer meridional flow; flow into the summer hemisphere from the winter hemisphere tends to occur in the free troposphere rather than in the boundary layer. A theory is proposed to explain the location of the monsoon; assuming quasiequilibrium, the poleward boundary of the monsoon circulation is collocated with the maximum in subcloud moist static energy, with the monsoon rains occurring near and slightly equatorward of this maximum. The model results support this theory of monsoon location, and it is found that the subcloud moist static energy distribution is determined by a balance between surface forcing and advection by the large-scale flow.
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Yun, Kyung-Sook, Axel Timmermann, and Malte F. Stuecker. "Synchronized spatial shifts of Hadley and Walker circulations." Earth System Dynamics 12, no. 1 (February 2, 2021): 121–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/esd-12-121-2021.
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Abstract. The El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) influences the most extensive tropospheric circulation cells on our planet, known as Hadley and Walker circulations. Previous studies have largely focused on the effect of ENSO on the strength of these cells. However, what has remained uncertain is whether interannual sea surface temperature anomalies can also cause synchronized spatial shifts of these circulations. Here, by examining the spatiotemporal relationship between Hadley and Walker cells in observations and climate model experiments, we demonstrate that the seasonally evolving warm-pool sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the decay phase of an El Niño event generate a meridionally asymmetric Walker circulation response, which couples the zonal and meridional atmospheric overturning circulations. This process, which can be characterized as a phase-synchronized spatial shift in Walker and Hadley cells, is accompanied by cross-equatorial northwesterly low-level flow that diverges from an area of anomalous drying in the western North Pacific and converges towards a region with anomalous moistening in the southern central Pacific. Our results show that the SST-induced concurrent spatial shifts of the two circulations are climatically relevant as they can further amplify extratropical precipitation variability on interannual timescales.
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Bordi, Isabella, Klaus Fraedrich, Frank Lunkeit, and Alfonso Sutera. "Tropospheric Double Jets, Meridional Cells, and Eddies: A Case Study and Idealized Simulations." Monthly Weather Review 135, no. 9 (September 1, 2007): 3118–33. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/mwr3464.1.
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Abstract The observed low-frequency variability of the zonally averaged atmospheric circulation in the winter hemisphere is found to be amenable to an interpretation where the subtropical jet is flanked by a secondary midlatitude one. Observations also suggest that the link between the stratosphere and the troposphere modulates the variability of the tropospheric double-jet structure. Moreover, the summer hemisphere is characterized by a strong midlatitude jet sided by an intermittent subtropical one and easterly winds in the stratosphere. This work addresses the question about the role of eddies in generating and maintaining these key features of the general circulation by means of a simplified general circulation model. Model solutions for different parameter settings and external radiative forcings in the stratosphere are studied with and without eddies active on the system. The following main findings are noted. 1) Eddy dynamics alone, through the baroclinic instability processes in an atmosphere subjected to radiative forcing and dissipation, may account for the observed meridional variance of the tropospheric jets. 2) The Hadley cell can extend to the pole overlying the Ferrel cell, a feature supported by observations in the summer hemisphere. 3) The meridional temperature gradient reversal in the summer stratosphere contributes to the observed low-frequency variability introducing an intermittent formation of a subtropical jet and the occurrence of easterlies in the tropical stratosphere. 4) Poleward propagation of the zonal wind anomaly is, when it occurs, related to the activity of synoptic eddies.
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Ceppi, Paulo, and Dennis L. Hartmann. "Clouds and the Atmospheric Circulation Response to Warming." Journal of Climate 29, no. 2 (January 12, 2016): 783–99. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-15-0394.1.
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Abstract The authors study the effect of clouds on the atmospheric circulation response to CO2 quadrupling in an aquaplanet model with a slab ocean lower boundary. The cloud effect is isolated by locking the clouds to either the control or 4xCO2 state in the shortwave (SW) or longwave (LW) radiation schemes. In the model, cloud radiative changes explain more than half of the total poleward expansion of the Hadley cells, midlatitude jets, and storm tracks under CO2 quadrupling, even though they cause only one-fourth of the total global-mean surface warming. The effect of clouds on circulation results mainly from the SW cloud radiative changes, which strongly enhance the equator-to-pole temperature gradient at all levels in the troposphere, favoring stronger and poleward-shifted midlatitude eddies. By contrast, quadrupling CO2 while holding the clouds fixed causes strong polar amplification and weakened midlatitude baroclinicity at lower levels, yielding only a small poleward expansion of the circulation. The results show that 1) the atmospheric circulation responds sensitively to cloud-driven changes in meridional and vertical temperature distribution and 2) the spatial structure of cloud feedbacks likely plays a dominant role in the circulation response to greenhouse gas forcing. While the magnitude and spatial structure of the cloud feedback are expected to be highly model dependent, an analysis of 4xCO2 simulations of CMIP5 models shows that the SW cloud feedback likely forces a poleward expansion of the tropospheric circulation in most climate models.
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Knietzsch, M. A., A. Schröder, V. Lucarini, and F. Lunkeit. "The impact of oceanic heat transport on the atmospheric circulation." Earth System Dynamics 6, no. 2 (September 21, 2015): 591–615. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/esd-6-591-2015.
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Abstract. A general circulation model of intermediate complexity with an idealized Earth-like aquaplanet setup is used to study the impact of changes in the oceanic heat transport on the global atmospheric circulation. Focus is on the atmospheric mean meridional circulation and global thermodynamic properties. The atmosphere counterbalances to a large extent the imposed changes in the oceanic heat transport, but, nonetheless, significant modifications to the atmospheric general circulation are found. Increasing the strength of the oceanic heat transport up to 2.5 PW leads to an increase in the global mean near-surface temperature and to a decrease in its equator-to-pole gradient. For stronger transports, the gradient is reduced further, but the global mean remains approximately constant. This is linked to a cooling and a reversal of the temperature gradient in the tropics. Additionally, a stronger oceanic heat transport leads to a decline in the intensity and a poleward shift of the maxima of both the Hadley and Ferrel cells. Changes in zonal mean diabatic heating and friction impact the properties of the Hadley cell, while the behavior of the Ferrel cell is mostly controlled by friction. The efficiency of the climate machine, the intensity of the Lorenz energy cycle and the material entropy production of the system decline with increased oceanic heat transport. This suggests that the climate system becomes less efficient and turns into a state of reduced entropy production as the enhanced oceanic transport performs a stronger large-scale mixing between geophysical fluids with different temperatures, thus reducing the available energy in the climate system and bringing it closer to a state of thermal equilibrium.
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Wang, Hailong, and Graham Feingold. "Modeling Mesoscale Cellular Structures and Drizzle in Marine Stratocumulus. Part II: The Microphysics and Dynamics of the Boundary Region between Open and Closed Cells." Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 66, no. 11 (November 1, 2009): 3257–75. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/2009jas3120.1.
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Abstract This is the second of two companion papers on modeling of mesoscale cellular structures and drizzle in marine stratocumulus. In the first, aerosol–cloud–precipitation interactions and dynamical feedbacks were investigated to study the formation and evolution of open and closed cellular structures separately. In this paper, coexisting open and closed cells and how they influence one another are examined in a model domain of 180 × 60 × 1.5 km3. Simulations show that gradients in aerosol at the open–closed-cell boundary cause gradients in precipitation that generate a mesoscale circulation. The circulation promotes precipitation in the polluted closed cells but suppresses it in open cells by transporting water vapor to the closed-cell regime and carrying drier air and aerosol back to the open cells. The strength of this circulation depends on the contrast in precipitation under clean and polluted conditions at the boundary. Ship plumes emitted into clean, precipitating regions, simulated as a special case of a clean–polluted boundary, develop a similar circulation. Drizzle in the ship track is first suppressed by the increase in aerosol particles but later recovers and becomes even stronger because the local circulation enhances liquid water path owing to the convergence of water vapor from the region adjacent to the track. This circulation modifies the transport and mixing of ship plumes and enhances their dispersal. Finally, results show that whereas ship emissions do increase cloud albedo in regions of open cells, even the addition of very large aerosol concentrations cannot transform an open cellular structure to a closed one, for the case considered.
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Dezfuli, Amin K., and Sharon E. Nicholson. "The Relationship of Rainfall Variability in Western Equatorial Africa to the Tropical Oceans and Atmospheric Circulation. Part II: The Boreal Autumn." Journal of Climate 26, no. 1 (January 1, 2013): 66–84. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-11-00686.1.
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Abstract This paper examines the mechanisms controlling the year-to-year variability of rainfall over western equatorial Africa during the rainy season of October–December. Five regions with distinct behavior are analyzed separately. Only two show strong associations with the ocean and atmospheric features in the global tropics. These two regions, in the east (the eastern Zaire basin) and west (Angolan coast) of the study area, respectively, demonstrate strikingly opposite relationships with the anomalies of sea surface temperatures (SSTs), sea level pressure (SLP), and east–west atmospheric circulation. The wet (dry) conditions in the eastern Zaire basin are associated with El Niño(La Niña)–like phases. The inverse pattern is apparent for the Angolan coast. The other three regions, lying between these two poles of variability, represent a transition zone with a weak linear relationship to the circulation features. The vital impact of the east–west circulation cells on rainfall variability results in a stronger association with zonal wind than with SSTs or SLP. In addition to the zonal shift, changes in intensity of the zonal cells also play a crucial role. Variability in both magnitude and location of the circulation cells appear to be modulated by the remote forcing from the Pacific via an atmospheric bridge. However, the eastern sector is impacted mainly when synchronous changes occur in the Indian Ocean, and the western sector is impacted mainly when synchronous changes occur in the Atlantic Ocean.
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Hazeleger, Wilco, Camiel Severijns, Richard Seager, and Franco Molteni. "Tropical Pacific–Driven Decadel Energy Transport Variability." Journal of Climate 18, no. 12 (June 15, 2005): 2037–51. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli3389.1.
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Abstract The atmospheric energy transport variability associated with decadal sea surface temperature variability in the tropical Pacific is studied using an atmospheric primitive equation model coupled to a slab mixed layer. The decadal variability is prescribed as an anomalous surface heat flux that represents the reduced ocean heat transport in the tropical Pacific when it is anomalously warm. The atmospheric energy transport increases and compensates for the reduced ocean heat transport. Increased transport by the mean meridional overturning (i.e., the strengthening of the Hadley cells) causes increased poleward energy transport. The subtropical jets increase in strength and shift equatorward, and in the midlatitudes the transients are affected. NCEP–NCAR reanalysis data show that the warming of the tropical Pacific in the 1980s compared to the early 1970s seems to have caused very similar changes in atmospheric energy transport indicating that these atmospheric transport variations were driven from the tropical Pacific. To study the implication of these changes for the coupled climate system an ocean model is driven with winds obtained from the atmosphere model. The poleward ocean heat transport increased when simulated wind anomalies associated with decadal tropical Pacific variability were used, showing a negative feedback between decadal variations in the mean meridional circulation in the atmosphere and in the Pacific Ocean. The Hadley cells and subtropical cells act to stabilize each other on the decadal time scale.
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Lohmann, Katja, and Mojib Latif. "Tropical Pacific Decadal Variability and the Subtropical–Tropical Cells." Journal of Climate 18, no. 23 (December 1, 2005): 5163–78. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli3559.1.
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Abstract The decadal-scale variability in the tropical Pacific has been analyzed herein by means of observations and numerical model simulations. The two leading modes of the sea surface temperature (SST) variability in the central western Pacific are a decadal mode with a period of about 10 yr and the ENSO mode with a dominant period of about 4 yr. The SST anomaly pattern of the decadal mode is ENSO like. The decadal mode, however, explains most variance in the western equatorial Pacific and off the equator. A simulation with an ocean general circulation model (OGCM) forced by reanalysis data is used to explore the origin of the decadal mode. It is found that the variability of the shallow subtropical–tropical overturning cells is an important factor in driving the decadal mode. This is supported by results from a multicentury integration with a coupled ocean–atmosphere general circulation model (CGCM) that realistically simulates tropical Pacific decadal variability. Finally, the sensitivity of the shallow subtropical–tropical overturning cells to greenhouse warming is discussed by analyzing the results of a scenario integration with the same CGCM.
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Barthlott, Christian, Ulrich Corsmeier, Cathérine Meißner, Frank Braun, and Christoph Kottmeier. "The influence of mesoscale circulation systems on triggering convective cells over complex terrain." Atmospheric Research 81, no. 2 (August 2006): 150–75. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2005.11.010.
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Ma, Jian, Robin Chadwick, Kyong-Hwan Seo, Changming Dong, Gang Huang, Gregory R. Foltz, and Jonathan H. Jiang. "Responses of the Tropical Atmospheric Circulation to Climate Change and Connection to the Hydrological Cycle." Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 46, no. 1 (May 30, 2018): 549–80. http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev-earth-082517-010102.
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This review describes the climate change–induced responses of the tropical atmospheric circulation and their impacts on the hydrological cycle. We depict the theoretically predicted changes and diagnose physical mechanisms for observational and model-projected trends in large-scale and regional climate. The tropical circulation slows down with moisture and stratification changes, connecting to a poleward expansion of the Hadley cells and a shift of the intertropical convergence zone. Redistributions of regional precipitation consist of thermodynamic and dynamical components, including a strong offset between moisture increase and circulation weakening throughout the tropics. This allows other dynamical processes to dominate local circulation changes, such as a surface warming pattern effect over oceans and multiple mechanisms over land. To improve reliability in climate projections, more fundamental understandings of pattern formation, circulation change, and the balance of various processes redistributing land rainfall are suggested to be important.
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Gushchina, D., B. Dewitte, and S. Illig. "Remote ENSO forcing versus local air-sea interaction in QTCM: a sensitivity study to intraseasonal variability." Advances in Geosciences 6 (March 30, 2006): 289–97. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/adgeo-6-289-2006.
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Abstract. The skill of a newly designed global atmospheric model of intermediate complexity - QTCM (for quasi-equilibrium tropical circulation model) in simulating the teleconnections is investigated. The role of the ENSO remote forcing over the Pacific surrounding regions is emphasized from sensitivity experiments to critical parameters of the model. The role of the tropical intraseasonal variability (ITV) on the simulated ENSO teleconnection pattern is estimated using the methodology proposed by Lin et al. (2000) allowing to damp the energy of ITV in the model. The reduction of intraseasonal variability allows emphasizing the forced response of the atmosphere and eases the detection of local coupled atmosphere-ocean patterns. It was shown that the simulated ITV has an impact on the ENSO teleconnection pattern both in the mid-latitudes and in regions of ascending and descending branches of Walker circulation cells in the tropics.
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Green, Brian, and John Marshall. "Coupling of Trade Winds with Ocean Circulation Damps ITCZ Shifts." Journal of Climate 30, no. 12 (June 2017): 4395–411. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-16-0818.1.
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The position of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) is sensitive to the atmosphere’s hemispheric energy balance, lying in the hemisphere most strongly heated by radiative and turbulent surface energy fluxes. This study examines how the ocean circulation, through its cross-equatorial energy transport and associated surface energy fluxes, affects the ITCZ’s response to an imposed interhemispheric heating contrast in a coupled atmosphere–ocean general circulation model. Shifts of the ITCZ are strongly damped owing to a robust coupling between the atmosphere’s Hadley cells and the ocean’s subtropical cells by the trade winds and their associated surface stresses. An anomalous oceanic wind-driven cross-equatorial cell transports energy across the equator, strongly offsetting the imposed heating contrast. The circulation of this cell can be described by the combination of trade wind anomalies and the meridional gradient of sea surface temperature, which sets the temperature contrast between its upper and lower branches. The ability of the wind-driven ocean circulation to damp ITCZ shifts represents a previously unappreciated constraint on the atmosphere’s energy budget and indicates that the position of the ITCZ may be much less sensitive to interhemispheric heating contrasts than previously thought. Climatic implications of this damping are discussed.
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Bordoni, Simona, and Tapio Schneider. "Regime Transitions of Steady and Time-Dependent Hadley Circulations: Comparison of Axisymmetric and Eddy-Permitting Simulations." Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 67, no. 5 (May 1, 2010): 1643–54. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/2009jas3294.1.
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Abstract Steady-state and time-dependent Hadley circulations are investigated with an idealized dry GCM, in which thermal forcing is represented as relaxation of temperatures toward a radiative-equilibrium state. The latitude ϕ0 of maximum radiative-equilibrium temperature is progressively displaced off the equator or varied in time to study how the Hadley circulation responds to seasonally varying forcing; axisymmetric simulations are compared with eddy-permitting simulations. In axisymmetric steady-state simulations, the Hadley circulations for all ϕ0 approach the nearly inviscid, angular-momentum-conserving limit, despite the presence of finite vertical diffusion of momentum and dry static energy. In contrast, in corresponding eddy-permitting simulations, the Hadley circulations undergo a regime transition as ϕ0 is increased, from an equinox regime (small ϕ0) in which eddy momentum fluxes strongly influence both Hadley cells to a solstice regime (large ϕ0) in which the cross-equatorial winter Hadley cell more closely approaches the angular-momentum-conserving limit. In axisymmetric time-dependent simulations, the Hadley cells undergo transitions between a linear equinox regime and a nonlinear, nearly angular-momentum-conserving solstice regime. Unlike in the eddy-permitting simulations, time tendencies of the zonal wind play a role in the dynamics of the transitions in the axisymmetric simulation. Nonetheless, the axisymmetric transitions are similar to those in the eddy-permitting simulations in that the role of the nonlinear mean momentum flux divergence in the zonal momentum budget shifts from marginal in the equinox regime to dominant in the solstice regime. As in the eddy-permitting simulations, a mean-flow feedback—involving the upper-level zonal winds, the lower-level temperature gradient, and the poleward boundary of the cross-equatorial Hadley cell—makes it possible for the circulation fields to change at the transition more rapidly than can be explained by the steady-state response to the thermal forcing. However, the regime transitions in the axisymmetric simulations are less sharp than those in the eddy-permitting simulations because eddy–mean flow feedbacks in the eddy-permitting simulations additionally sharpen the transitions.
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Drijfhout, Sybren S. "The Atmospheric Response to a Thermohaline Circulation Collapse: Scaling Relations for the Hadley Circulation and the Response in a Coupled Climate Model." Journal of Climate 23, no. 3 (February 1, 2010): 757–74. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/2009jcli3159.1.
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Abstract The response of the tropical atmosphere to a collapse of the thermohaline circulation (THC) is investigated by comparing two 5-member ensemble runs with a coupled climate model (CCM), the difference being that in one ensemble a hosing experiment was performed. An extension of the Held–Hou–Lindzen model for the Hadley circulation is developed to interpret the results. The forcing associated with a THC collapse is qualitatively similar to, but smaller in amplitude than, the solstitial shift from boreal summer to winter. This forcing results from reduced ocean heat transport creating an anomalous cross-equatorial SST gradient. The small amplitude of the forcing makes it possible to arrive at analytical expressions using standard perturbation theory. The theory predicts the latitudinal shift between the Northern Hemisphere (NH) and Southern Hemisphere (SH) Hadley cells, and the relative strength of the anomalous cross-equatorial Hadley cell compared to the solstitial cell. The poleward extent of the Hadley cells is controlled by other physics. In the NH the Hadley cell contracts, while zonal velocities increase and the subtropical jet shifts equatorward, whereas in the SH cell the opposite occurs. This behavior can be explained by assuming that the poleward extent of the Hadley cell is determined by baroclinic instability: it scales with the inverse of the isentropic slopes. Both theory and CCM results indicate that a THC collapse and changes in tropical circulation do not act in competition, as a possible explanation for abrupt climate change; they act in concert.
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Elipot, Shane, Eleanor Frajka-Williams, Chris W. Hughes, Sofia Olhede, and Matthias Lankhorst. "Observed Basin-Scale Response of the North Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation to Wind Stress Forcing." Journal of Climate 30, no. 6 (March 1, 2017): 2029–54. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-16-0664.1.
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Abstract The response of the North Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (MOC) to wind stress forcing is investigated from an observational standpoint, using four time series of overturning transports below and relative to 1000 m, overlapping by 3.6 yr. These time series are derived from four mooring arrays located on the western boundary of the North Atlantic: the RAPID Western Atlantic Variability Experiment (WAVE) array (42.5°N), the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Line W array (39°N), RAPID–MOC/MOCHA (26.5°N), and the Meridional Overturning Variability Experiment (MOVE) array (16°N). Using modal decompositions of the analytic cross-correlation between transports and wind stress, the basin-scale wind stress is shown to significantly drive the MOC coherently at four latitudes, on the time scales available for this study. The dominant mode of covariance is interpreted as rapid barotropic oceanic adjustments to wind stress forcing, eventually forming two counterrotating Ekman overturning cells centered on the tropics and subtropical gyre. A second mode of covariance appears related to patterns of wind stress and wind stress curl associated with the North Atlantic Oscillation, spinning anomalous horizontal circulations that likely interact with topography to form overturning cells.
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O’Gorman, Paul A. "The Effective Static Stability Experienced by Eddies in a Moist Atmosphere." Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 68, no. 1 (January 1, 2011): 75–90. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/2010jas3537.1.
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Abstract Water vapor directly affects the dynamics of atmospheric eddy circulations through the release of latent heat. But it is difficult to include latent heat release in dynamical theories because of the associated nonlinearity (precipitation generally occurs where there is upward motion). A new effective static stability is derived that fundamentally captures the effect of latent heat release on moist eddy circulations. It differs from the usual dry static stability by an additive term that depends on temperature and a parameter measuring the up–down asymmetry of vertical velocity statistics. Latent heat release reduces the effective static stability experienced by eddies but cannot reduce it to zero so long as there are nonprecipitating regions of the eddies. Evaluation based on reanalysis data indicates that the effective static stability in the lower troposphere ranges from ∼80% of the dry static stability at high latitudes to ∼25% in the tropics. The effective static stability provides a solution to the longstanding problem of how to adapt dry dynamical theories to the moist circulations in the atmosphere. Its utility for climate change problems is illustrated based on simulations with an idealized general circulation model. It is shown to help account for changes in the thermal stratification of the extratropical troposphere, the extent of the Hadley cells, the intensity of extratropical transient eddies, and the extratropical eddy length.
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Knietzsch, M. A., V. Lucarini, and F. Lunkeit. "The impact of oceanic heat transport on the atmospheric circulation." Earth System Dynamics Discussions 5, no. 2 (November 4, 2014): 1463–90. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/esdd-5-1463-2014.
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Abstract. A general circulation model of intermediate complexity with an idealized earthlike aquaplanet setup is used to study the impact of changes in the oceanic heat transport on the global atmospheric circulation. Focus is put on the Lorenz energy cycle and the atmospheric mean meridional circulation. The latter is analysed by means of the Kuo–Eliassen equation. The atmospheric heat transport compensates the imposed oceanic heat transport changes to a large extent in conjunction with significant modification of the general circulation. Up to a maximum about 3 PW, an increase of the oceanic heat transport leads to an increase of the global mean near-surface temperature and a decrease of its equator-to-pole gradient. For larger transports, the gradient is reduced further but the global mean remains approximately constant. This is linked to a cooling and a reversal of the temperature gradient in the tropics. A larger oceanic heat transport leads to a reduction of all reservoirs and conversions of the Lorenz energy cycle but of different relative magnitude for the individual components. The available potential energy of the zonal mean flow and its conversion to eddy available potential energy are affected most. Both the Hadley and Ferrel cell show a decline for increasing oceanic heat transport, with the Hadley cell being more sensitive. Both cells exhibit a poleward shift of their maxima, and the Hadley cell broadens for larger oceanic transports. The partitioning, by means of the Kuo–Eliassen equation, reveals that zonal mean diabatic heating and friction are the most important sources for changes of the Hadley cell, while the behaviour of the Ferrell cell is mostly controlled by friction.
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Sun, Y., G. Ramstein, C. Contoux, and T. Zhou. "A comparative study of large-scale atmospheric circulation in the context of a future scenario (RCP4.5) and past warmth (mid-Pliocene)." Climate of the Past 9, no. 4 (July 25, 2013): 1613–27. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-1613-2013.
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Abstract. The mid-Pliocene warm period (~ 3.3–3.0 Ma) is often considered as the last sustained warm period with close enough geographic configurations compared to the present one associated with atmospheric CO2 concentration (405 ± 50 ppm) higher than the modern level. For this reason, this period is often considered as a potential analogue for the future climate warming, with the important advantage that for mid-Pliocene many marine and continental data are available. To investigate this issue, we selected the RCP4.5 scenario, one of the current available future projections, to compare the pattern of tropical atmospheric response with the past warm mid-Pliocene climate. We use three Atmosphere-Ocean General Circulation Model (AOGCM) simulations (RCP4.5 scenario, mid-Pliocene and present-day simulation) carried out with the IPSL-CM5A model and investigate atmospheric tropical dynamics through Hadley and Walker cell responses to warmer conditions, considering that the analysis can provide some assessment of how these circulations will change in the future. Our results show that there is a damping of the Hadley cell intensity in the northern tropics and an increase in both subtropics. Moreover, northern and southern Hadley cells expand poleward. The response of the Hadley cells is stronger for the RCP4.5 scenario than for the mid-Pliocene, but in very good agreement with the fact that the atmospheric CO2 concentration is higher in the future scenario than in the mid-Pliocene (543 versus 405 ppm). Concerning the response of the Walker cell, we show that despite very large similarities, there are also some differences. Common features to both scenarios are: weakening of the ascending branch, leading to a suppression of the precipitation over the western tropical Pacific. The response of the Walker cell is stronger in the RCP4.5 scenario than in the mid-Pliocene but also depicts some major differences, as an eastward shift of its rising branch in the future scenario compared to the mid-Pliocene. In this paper, we explain the dynamics of the Hadley and Walker cells, and show that despite a minor discrepancy, the mid-Pliocene is certainly an interesting analogue for future climate changes in tropical areas.
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Clement, Amy C. "The Role of the Ocean in the Seasonal Cycle of the Hadley Circulation." Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 63, no. 12 (December 2006): 3351–65. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jas3811.1.
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The influence of ocean heat transport on the seasonal cycle of the Hadley circulation is investigated using idealized experiments with a climate model. It is found that ocean heat transport plays a fundamental role in setting the structure and intensity of the seasonal Hadley cells. The ocean’s influence can be understood primarily via annual mean considerations. By cooling the equatorial regions and warming the subtropics in a year-round sense, the ocean heat transport allows for regions of SST maxima to occur off the equator in the summer hemisphere. This leads to large meridional excursions of convection over the ocean and a seasonal Hadley circulation that is strongly asymmetric about the equator. The broadening of the latitudinal extent of the SST maximum and the convecting regions by the ocean heat transport also weakens the annual mean Hadley circulation in a manner that is consistent with simpler models. The results are discussed in the context of prior studies of the controls on the strength and structure of the Hadley circulation. It is suggested that a complete understanding of the seasonal Hadley circulation must include both oceanic and atmospheric processes and their interactions.
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Limbu, Paul Tilwebwa Shelleph, and Guirong Tan. "Relationship between the October–December rainfall in Tanzania and the Walker circulation cell over the Indian Ocean." Meteorologische Zeitschrift 28, no. 6 (December 27, 2019): 453–69. http://dx.doi.org/10.1127/metz/2019/0939.
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Park, Myung-Sook, Andrew B. Penny, Russell L. Elsberry, Brian J. Billings, and James D. Doyle. "Latent Heating and Cooling Rates in Developing and Nondeveloping Tropical Disturbances during TCS-08: Radar-Equivalent Retrievals from Mesoscale Numerical Models and ELDORA*." Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 70, no. 1 (January 1, 2013): 37–55. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jas-d-11-0311.1.
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Abstract Latent heating and cooling rates have a critical role in predicting tropical cyclone formation and intensification. In a prior study, Park and Elsberry estimated the latent heating and cooling rates from aircraft Doppler radar [Electra Doppler Radar (ELDORA)] observations for two developing and two nondeveloping tropical disturbances during the Tropical Cyclone Structure 2008 (TCS-08) field experiment. In this study, equivalent retrievals of heating rates from two mesoscale models with 1-km resolution are calculated with the same radar thermodynamic retrieval. Contoured frequency altitude diagrams and vertical profiles of the net latent heating rates from the model are compared with the ELDORA-retrieved rates in similar cloud-cluster regions relative to the center of circulation. In both the developing and nondeveloping cases, the radar-equivalent retrievals from the two models tend to overestimate heating for less frequently occurring, intense convective cells that contribute to positive vorticity generation and spinup in the lower troposphere. The model maximum cooling rates are consistently smaller in magnitude than the heating maxima for the nondeveloping cases as well as the developing cases. Whereas in the model the cooling rates are predominantly associated with melting processes, the effects of evaporative cooling are underestimated in convective downdraft regions and at upper levels. Because of the net warming of the columns, the models tend to overintensify the lower-tropospheric circulations if these intense convective cells are close to the circulation center. Improvements in the model physical process representations are required to realistically represent the evaporative cooling effects.
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García-Serrano, Javier, Teresa Losada, Belén Rodríguez-Fonseca, and Irene Polo. "Tropical Atlantic Variability Modes (1979–2002). Part II: Time-Evolving Atmospheric Circulation Related to SST-Forced Tropical Convection." Journal of Climate 21, no. 24 (December 15, 2008): 6476–97. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/2008jcli2191.1.
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Abstract The ways in which deep convection over the tropical Atlantic affects the midlatitude climate variability through meridional circulation, planetary wave teleconnection, and wave–mean flow interaction is examined for the 1979–2002 period, by following the North Atlantic anomalous rainfall evolution from summer to late winter. In this way, the first two covariability modes between anomalous summer tropical Atlantic sea surface temperature (SST) and anomalous summer–late-winter precipitation over the North Atlantic basin are analyzed using the same methodology of extended maximum covariance analysis developed for Part I. This work updates the results given by other authors, whose studies are based on different datasets dating back to the 1950s. To this end, the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) Merged Analysis of Precipitation (CMAP) dataset, which includes measures over the ocean, is used to give a complete picture of the interannual rainfall patterns for the last decades. The first mode, which accounts for more than 40% of the squared covariance fraction (SCF), involves SST anomalies related to the equatorial mode or Atlantic Niño. Its atmospheric response shows variations of the Atlantic Hadley and Ferrel circulations, reinforcing the direct and indirect circulation cells, respectively, displacements of the Atlantic Walker circulation, and the excitation of Rossby waves, which are trapped in the North African–Asian jet. The second mode, which accounts for 15% of the SCF, is associated with the summer horseshoe and winter tripole SST patterns. The related atmospheric circulation anomalies include direct thermal forcing (altering the local Hadley cell), perturbations in the ITCZ, and wavelike responses from the Caribbean region. The method used in this work highlights the seasonal dependence of the modes, in contrast to previous work that neglects to take into account the month-to-month evolution of these modes. The results add new and valuable information to the understanding of these modes from the important period back to the 1980s.
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Zheng, Fei, Jianping Li, Lei Wang, Fei Xie, and Xiaofeng Li. "Cross-Seasonal Influence of the December–February Southern Hemisphere Annular Mode on March–May Meridional Circulation and Precipitation." Journal of Climate 28, no. 17 (September 1, 2015): 6859–81. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-14-00515.1.
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Abstract New evidence suggests that interannual variability in zonal-mean meridional circulation and precipitation can be partially attributed to the Southern Hemisphere annular mode (SAM), the dominant mode of climate variability in the Southern Hemisphere (SH) extratropics. A cross-seasonal correlation exists between the December–February (DJF) SAM and March–May (MAM) zonal-mean meridional circulation and precipitation. This correlation is not confined to the SH: it also extends to the Northern Hemisphere (NH) subtropics. When the preceding DJF SAM is positive, counterclockwise, and clockwise meridional cells, accompanied by less and more precipitation, occur alternately between the SH middle latitudes and NH subtropics in MAM. In particular, less precipitation occurs in the SH middle latitudes, the SH tropics, and the NH subtropics, but more precipitation occurs in the SH subtropics and the NH tropics. A framework is built to explain the cross-seasonal impact of SAM-related SST anomalies. Evidence indicates that the DJF SAM tends to lead to dipolelike SST anomalies in the SH extratropics, which are referred to in this study as the SH ocean dipole (SOD). The DJF SOD can persist until the following MAM when it begins to modulate MAM meridional circulation and large-scale precipitation. Atmospheric general circulation model simulations further verify that MAM meridional circulation between the SH middle latitudes and the northern subtropics responds to the MAM SOD.
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Wang, Daiwei, and Mark A. Cane. "Pacific Shallow Meridional Overturning Circulation in a Warming Climate." Journal of Climate 24, no. 24 (December 15, 2011): 6424–39. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/2011jcli4100.1.
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Abstract By analyzing a set of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 3 (CMIP3) climate model projections of the twenty-first century, it is found that the shallow meridional overturning of the Pacific subtropical cells (STCs) show contrasting trends between two hemispheres in a warming climate. The strength of STCs and equivalently the STC surface-layer transport tend to be weakening (strengthening) in the Northern (Southern) Hemisphere as a response to large-scale surface wind changes over the tropical Pacific. The STC pycnocline transport convergence into the equatorial Pacific Ocean from higher latitudes shows a robust weakening in the twenty-first century. This weakening is mainly through interior pathways consistent with the relaxation of the zonal pycnocline tilt, whereas the transport change through western boundary pathways is small and not consistent across models. It is found that the change of the western boundary pycnocline transport is strongly affected by the shoaling of the pycnocline base. In addition, there is a robust weakening of the Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) transport in a warming climate. In the multimodel ensemble mean, the response to greenhouse warming of the upper-ocean mass balance associated with the STCs is such that the weakening of the equatorward pycnocline transport convergence is balanced by a weakening of the poleward surface-layer transport divergence and the ITF transport of similar amounts.
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Su, Jingzhi, Huijun Wang, Haijun Yang, Helge Drange, Yongqi Gao, and Mats Bentsen. "Role of the Atmospheric and Oceanic Circulation in the Tropical Pacific SST Changes." Journal of Climate 21, no. 10 (May 15, 2008): 2019–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/2007jcli1692.1.
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Abstract A coupled climate model is used to explore the response of the tropical sea surface temperature (SST) to positive SST anomalies in the global extratropics. The main model results here are consistent with previous numerical studies. In response to prescribed SST anomalies in the extratropics, the tropical SSTs rise rapidly and reach a quasi-equilibrium state within several years, and the tropical subsurface temperatures show a slow response. The annual-mean Hadley cell, as well as the surface trades, are weakened. The weakened trades reduce the poleward Ekman transports in the tropical ocean and, furthermore, lead to anomalous positive convergences of heat transport, which is the main mechanism for maintaining the tropical Pacific SST warming. The process of an extratropical influence on the tropics is related to both the atmospheric and oceanic circulations. The intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) moves southward and eastward in the Pacific, corresponding to a reduction of the Hadley circulation and Walker circulation. At the same time, convective precipitation anomalies are formed on the boundary of the climatological ITCZ, while the climatological mean convections centered in the Southeast Asia region are suppressed. The largely delayed response of the tropical subsurface temperature cannot be explained only by the strength change of the subtropical cells (STCs), but can be traced back to the slow changing of subsurface temperature in the extratropics. In the extratropical oceans, warming and freshening reduce the surface water density, and the outcropping lines of certain isopycnal layers are moved poleward. This poleward movement of outcropping lines can weaken the positive temperature anomalies, or even lead to negative anomalies, on given isopycnal layers. Displayed on time-dependent isopycnal layers, positive subsurface temperature anomalies are present only in the region after subduction, and are subsequently replaced by negative temperature anomalies in the deep tropics regions. The noticeable features of the density compensation of temperature and salinity indicate that diapycnal processes play an important role in the equatorward transport of the temperature and salinity anomalies from the midlatitude.
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Nguyen, H., A. Evans, C. Lucas, I. Smith, and B. Timbal. "The Hadley Circulation in Reanalyses: Climatology, Variability, and Change." Journal of Climate 26, no. 10 (May 8, 2013): 3357–76. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-12-00224.1.
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Abstract Analysis of the annual cycle of intensity, extent, and width of the Hadley circulation across a 31-yr period (1979–2009) from all existent reanalyses reveals a good agreement among the datasets. All datasets show that intensity is at a maximum in the winter hemisphere and at a minimum in the summer hemisphere. Maximum and minimum values of meridional extent are reached in the respective autumn and spring hemispheres. While considering the horizontal momentum balance, where a weakening of the Hadley cell (HC) is expected in association with a widening, it is shown here that there is no direct relationship between intensity and extent on a monthly time scale. All reanalyses show an expansion in both hemispheres, most pronounced and statistically significant during summer and autumn at an average rate of expansion of 0.55° decade−1 in each hemisphere. In contrast, intensity trends are inconsistent among the datasets, although there is a tendency toward intensification, particularly in winter and spring. Correlations between the HC and tropical and extratropical large-scale modes of variability suggest interactions where the extent of the HC is influenced by El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the annular modes. The cells tend to shrink (expand) during the warm (cold) phase of ENSO and during the low (high) phase of the annular modes. Intensity appears to be influenced only by ENSO and only during spring for the southern cell and during winter for the northern cell.
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Adames, Ángel F., and John M. Wallace. "Three-Dimensional Structure and Evolution of the Vertical Velocity and Divergence Fields in the MJO." Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 71, no. 12 (November 26, 2014): 4661–81. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jas-d-14-0091.1.
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Abstract The features in the planetary-scale wind field that shape the MJO-related vertical velocity field are examined using the linear analysis protocol based on the daily global velocity potential field described in a companion paper, augmented by a compositing procedure that yields a more robust and concise description of the prevalent patterns over the Indo-Pacific warm pool sector (60°E–180°). The analysis elucidates the structural elements of the planetary-scale wind field that give rise to the characteristic “swallowtail” shape of the region of enhanced rainfall and the “bottom up” evolution of the vertical velocity profile from one with a shallow peak on the eastern end of the region of enhanced rainfall to one with an elevated peak on the western end. These distinctive features of the vertical velocity field in the MJO reflect the juxtaposition of deep overturning circulation cells in the equatorial plane and much shallower frictionally driven cells in the meridional plane to the east and west of the regions of enhanced rainfall. The zonal overturning circulations determine the pattern of ∂u/∂x and the meridional overturning circulations determine the pattern of ∂υ/∂y in the divergence profiles. These features are at least qualitatively well represented by the Matsuno–Gill solution for the planetary wave response to a stationary equatorial heat source–sink dipole.
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Gottschalck, Jon, Paul E. Roundy, Carl J. Schreck III, Augustin Vintzileos, and Chidong Zhang. "Large-Scale Atmospheric and Oceanic Conditions during the 2011–12 DYNAMO Field Campaign." Monthly Weather Review 141, no. 12 (November 25, 2013): 4173–96. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/mwr-d-13-00022.1.
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Abstract An international field campaign, Dynamics of the Madden Julian Oscillation (DYNAMO), took place in the Indian Ocean during October 2011–March 2012 to collect observations for the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO), especially its convective initiation processes. The large-scale atmospheric and oceanic conditions during the campaign are documented here. The ENSO and the Indian Ocean dipole (IOD) states, the monthly mean monsoon circulation and its associated precipitation, humidity, vertical and meridional/zonal overturning cells, and ocean surface currents are discussed. The evolution of MJO events is described using various fields and indices that have been used to subdivide the campaign into three periods. These periods were 1) 17 September–8 December 2011 (period 1), which featured two robust MJO events that circumnavigated the global tropics with a period of less than 45 days; 2) 9 December 2011–31 January 2012, which contained less coherent activity (period 2); and 3) 1 February–12 April 2012, a period that featured the strongest and most slowly propagating MJO event of the campaign (period 3). Activities of convectively coupled atmospheric Kelvin and equatorial Rossby (ER) waves and their interaction with the MJO are discussed. The overview of the atmospheric and oceanic variability during the field campaign raises several scientific issues pertaining to our understanding of the MJO, or lack thereof. Among others, roles of Kelvin and ER waves in MJO convective initiation, convection-circulation decoupling on the MJO scale, applications of MJO filtering methods and indices, and ocean–atmosphere coupling need further research attention.
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Downes, Stephanie M., and Andrew McC Hogg. "Southern Ocean Circulation and Eddy Compensation in CMIP5 Models." Journal of Climate 26, no. 18 (September 9, 2013): 7198–220. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-12-00504.1.
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Abstract Thirteen state-of-the-art climate models from phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) are used to evaluate the response of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) transport and Southern Ocean meridional overturning circulation to surface wind stress and buoyancy changes. Understanding how these flows—fundamental players in the global distribution of heat, gases, and nutrients—respond to climate change is currently a widely debated issue among oceanographers. Here, the authors analyze the circulation responses of these coarse-resolution coupled models to surface fluxes. Under a future CMIP5 climate pathway where the equivalent atmospheric CO2 reaches 1370 ppm by 2100, the models robustly project reduced Southern Ocean density in the upper 2000 m accompanied by strengthened stratification. Despite an overall increase in overlying wind stress (~20%), the projected ACC transports lie within ±15% of their historical state, and no significant relationship with changes in the magnitude or position of the wind stress is identified. The models indicate that a weakening of ACC transport at the end of the twenty-first century is correlated with a strong increase in the surface heat and freshwater fluxes in the ACC region. In contrast, the surface heat gain across the ACC region and the wind-driven surface transports are significantly correlated with an increased upper and decreased lower Eulerian-mean meridional overturning circulation. The change in the eddy-induced overturning in both the depth and density spaces is quantified, and it is found that the CMIP5 models project partial eddy compensation of the upper and lower overturning cells.
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Hill, Spencer A., Simona Bordoni, and Jonathan L. Mitchell. "Axisymmetric Constraints on Cross-Equatorial Hadley Cell Extent." Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 76, no. 6 (May 17, 2019): 1547–64. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jas-d-18-0306.1.
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Abstract We consider the relevance of known constraints from each of Hide’s theorem, the angular momentum–conserving (AMC) model, and the equal-area model on the extent of cross-equatorial Hadley cells. These theories respectively posit that a Hadley circulation must span all latitudes where the radiative–convective equilibrium (RCE) absolute angular momentum satisfies or or where the RCE absolute vorticity satisfies ; all latitudes where the RCE zonal wind exceeds the AMC zonal wind; and over a range such that depth-averaged potential temperature is continuous and that energy is conserved. The AMC model requires knowledge of the ascent latitude , which needs not equal the RCE forcing maximum latitude . Whatever the value of , we demonstrate that an AMC cell must extend at least as far into the winter hemisphere as the summer hemisphere. The equal-area model predicts , always placing it poleward of . As is moved poleward (at a given thermal Rossby number), the equal-area-predicted Hadley circulation becomes implausibly large, while both and become increasingly displaced poleward of the minimal cell extent based on Hide’s theorem (i.e., of supercritical forcing). In an idealized dry general circulation model, cross-equatorial Hadley cells are generated, some spanning nearly pole to pole. All homogenize angular momentum imperfectly, are roughly symmetric in extent about the equator, and appear in extent controlled by the span of supercritical forcing.
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Zurita-Gotor, Pablo, and Pablo Álvarez-Zapatero. "Coupled Interannual Variability of the Hadley and Ferrel Cells." Journal of Climate 31, no. 12 (June 2018): 4757–73. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-17-0752.1.
Full textAbstract:
This work investigates the covariability in the strength of the Hadley and Ferrel cells on interannual time scales using reanalysis data. A significant correlation is found in both hemispheres only during boreal winter. For other seasons, only the outermost (subtropical) part of the Hadley cell is correlated with changes in the extratropical eddy momentum fluxes, as the eddies are unable to penetrate into the deep tropics. During boreal winter, the northern Hadley cell variability is driven by extratropical planetary momentum fluxes, but the mean meridional circulation response is primarily found below the level of maximum climatological outflow. Instead, at upper levels, changes in the zonal wind dominate the response to the anomalous eddy forcing. During austral winter, the southern Hadley cell is shielded from the extratropical eddy fluxes and its variability displays some of the characteristics of the angular momentum–conserving solution.
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Lehner, Manuela, and C. David Whiteman. "The Thermally Driven Cross-Basin Circulation in Idealized Basins under Varying Wind Conditions." Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology 51, no. 6 (June 2012): 1026–45. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jamc-d-11-0181.1.
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AbstractThe Weather Research and Forecasting model is used to perform large-eddy simulations of thermally driven cross-basin winds in idealized, closed basins. A spatially and temporally varying heat flux is prescribed at the surface as a function of slope inclination and orientation to produce a horizontal temperature gradient across the basin. The thermal asymmetry leads to the formation of a closed circulation cell flowing toward the more strongly heated sidewall, with a return flow in the upper part of the basin. In the presence of background winds above the basin, a second circulation cell forms in the upper part of the basin, resulting in one basin-sized cell, two counterrotating cells, or two cells with perpendicular rotation axes, depending on the background-wind direction with respect to the temperature gradient. The thermal cell near the basin floor and the background-wind-induced cell interact with each other either to enhance or to reduce the thermal cross-basin flow and return flow. It is shown that in 5–10-km-wide basins cross-basin temperature differences that are representative of east- and west-facing slopes are insufficient to maintain perceptible cross-basin winds because of reduced horizontal temperature and pressure gradients, particularly in a neutrally stratified atmosphere.
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Santellanes, Sean R., George S. Young, David J. Stensrud, Matthew R. Kumjian, and Ying Pan. "Environmental Conditions Associated with Horizontal Convective Rolls, Cellular Convection, and No Organized Circulations." Monthly Weather Review 149, no. 5 (May 2021): 1305–16. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/mwr-d-20-0207.1.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractTypical environmental conditions associated with horizontal convective rolls (HCRs) and cellular convection have been known for over 50 years. Yet our ability to predict whether HCRs, cellular convection, or no discernable organized (null) circulation will occur within a well-mixed convective boundary layer based upon easily observed environmental variables has been limited. Herein, a large database of 50 cases each of HCR, cellular convection, and null events is created that includes observations of mean boundary layer wind and wind shear, boundary layer depth; surface observations of wind, temperature, and relative humidity; and estimates of surface sensible heat flux. Results from a multiclass linear discriminant analysis applied to these data indicate that environmental conditions can be useful in predicting whether HCRs, cellular convection, or no circulation occurs, with the analysis identifying the correct circulation type on 72% of the case days. This result is slightly better than using a mean convective boundary layer (CBL) wind speed of 6 m s−1 to discriminate between HCRs and cells. However, the mean CBL wind speed has no ability to further separate out cases with no CBL circulation. The key environmental variables suggested by the discriminant analysis are mean sensible heat flux, friction velocity, and the Obukhov length.
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Penny, Andrew B., Patrick A. Harr, and Michael M. Bell. "Observations of a Nondeveloping Tropical Disturbance in the Western North Pacific during TCS-08 (2008)." Monthly Weather Review 143, no. 7 (July 1, 2015): 2459–84. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/mwr-d-14-00163.1.
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Abstract Large uncertainty still remains in determining whether a tropical cloud cluster will develop into a tropical cyclone. During The Observing System Research and Predictability Experiment (THORPEX) Pacific Asian Regional Campaign (T-PARC)/Tropical Cyclone Structure-2008 (TCS-08) field experiment, over 50 tropical cloud clusters were monitored for development, but only 4 developed into a tropical cyclone. One nondeveloping tropical disturbance (TCS025) was closely observed for potential formation during five aircraft research missions, which provided an unprecedented set of observations pertaining to the large-scale and convective environments of a nondeveloping system. The TCS025 disturbance was comprised of episodic convection that occurred in relation to the diurnal cycle along the eastern extent of a broad low-level trough. The upper-level environment was dominated by two cyclonic cells in the tropical upper-tropospheric trough (TUTT) north of the low-level trough in which the TCS025 circulation was embedded. An in-depth examination of in situ observations revealed that the nondeveloping circulation was asymmetric and vertically misaligned, which led to larger system-relative flow on the mesoscale. Persistent environmental vertical wind shear and horizontal shearing deformation near the circulation kept the system from becoming better organized and appears to have allowed low equivalent potential temperature () air originating from one of the TUTT cells to the north (upshear) to impact the thermodynamic environment of TCS025. This in turn weakened subsequent convection that might otherwise have improved alignment and contributed to the transition of TCS025 to a tropical cyclone.
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Voigt, A. "The dynamics of the Snowball Earth Hadley circulation for off-equatorial and seasonally varying insolation." Earth System Dynamics 4, no. 2 (November 27, 2013): 425–38. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/esd-4-425-2013.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. I study the Hadley circulation of a completely ice-covered Snowball Earth through simulations with a comprehensive atmosphere general circulation model. Because the Snowball Earth atmosphere is an example of a dry atmosphere, these simulations allow me to test to what extent dry theories and idealized models capture the dynamics of realistic dry Hadley circulations. Perpetual off-equatorial as well as seasonally varying insolation is used, extending a previous study for perpetual on-equatorial (equinox) insolation. Vertical diffusion of momentum, representing the momentum transport of dry convection, is fundamental to the momentum budgets of both the winter and summer cells. In the zonal budget, it is the primary process balancing the Coriolis force. In the meridional budget, it mixes meridional momentum between the upper and the lower branch and thereby decelerates the circulation. Because of the latter, the circulation intensifies by a factor of three when vertical diffusion of momentum is suppressed. For seasonally varying insolation, the circulation undergoes rapid transitions from the weak summer into the strong winter regime. Consistent with previous studies in idealized models, these transitions result from a mean-flow feedback, because of which they are insensitive to the treatment of vertical diffusion of momentum. Overall, the results corroborate previous findings for perpetual on-equatorial insolation. They demonstrate that descriptions of realistic dry Hadley circulations, in particular their strength, need to incorporate the vertical momentum transport by dry convection, a process that is neglected in most dry theories and idealized models. An improved estimate of the strength of the Snowball Earth Hadley circulation will also help to better constrain the climate of a possible Neoproterozoic Snowball Earth and its deglaciation threshold.
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Voigt, A. "The dynamics of the Snowball Earth Hadley circulation for off-equatorial and seasonally-varying insolation." Earth System Dynamics Discussions 4, no. 2 (August 29, 2013): 927–65. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/esdd-4-927-2013.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. I study the Hadley circulation of a completely ice-covered Snowball Earth through simulations with a comprehensive atmosphere general circulation model. Because the Snowball Earth atmosphere is an example of a dry atmosphere, these simulations allow me to test to what extent dry theories and idealized models capture the dynamics of dry Hadley circulations. Perpetual off-equatorial as well as seasonally-varying insolation is used, extending a previous study for perpetual on-equatorial (equinox) insolation. Vertical diffusion of momentum, representing the momentum transport of dry convection, is fundamental to the momentum budgets of both the winter and summer cells. In the zonal budget, it is the primary process balancing the Coriolis force. In the meridional budget, it mixes meridional momentum between the upper and the lower branch and thereby decelerates the circulation. Because of the latter, the circulation intensifies by a factor of three when vertical diffusion of momentum is suppressed. For seasonally-varying insolation, the circulation undergoes rapid transitions from the weak summer into the strong winter regime. Consistent with previous studies in idealized models, these transitions result from a mean-flow feedback, because of which they are insensitive to the treatment of vertical diffusion of momentum. Overall, the results corroborate previous findings for perpetual on-equatorial insolation. They demonstrate that an appropriate description of dry Hadley circulations, in particular their strength, needs to incorporate the vertical momentum transport by dry convection, a process that is neglected in most dry theories and idealized models. An improved estimate of the strength of the Snowball Earth Hadley circulation will also help to better constrain the climate of a possible Neoproterozoic Snowball Earth and its deglaciation threshold.