Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “zonal flows”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 217 records · Page 12
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1985

May 1982, Saskatoon M. F. Radar System: (52 Deg N, 107 Deg W), Canada

The system runs continuously, producing 1-h profiles approx. 75 to 110 km, 1978 to 1983: in particular for the 30-d (April 20 to May 19) centered on the inner core (May 3 to 6), 10-d (May 2 to 11). Incredibly, the only days missed for April/May were May 4/5, so 4-d fits for the core could not made! However the winds and tides were stable during May, so that the 10-d fits can be taken for comparison with other locations. The means (EW/NS) and Fourier components (24-, 12-h) for the 10-d (May 2 to 11) are shown; also those for the 30 days. Standard deviations are shown to be quite small. There is also little difference between 10- and 30-d profiles. The zonal flow is quite weak, showing that the summer westward flow has not fully developed. The 24-h tide has large lambda: approx. 100 km (EW and infinity (NS). Below 90 km the tide is circular, but above almost linear with EW amplitudes larger than NS. The 12-h tide is circular and lambda is small below 95 km; and more linear and variable above. The 30-d May spectral figure shows that 12-, 24-h tides are comparable; otherwise there is a 3.85-d oscillation to approx. 90 km; there were no other significant peaks.

Manson, A. H.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Zonally averaged model of dynamics, chemistry and radiation for the atmosphere

A nongeostrophic theory of zonally averaged circulation is formulated using the nonlinear primitive equations on a sphere, taking advantage of the more direct relationship between the mean meridional circulation and diabatic heating rate which is available in isentropic coordinates. Possible differences between results of nongeostrophic theory and the commonly used geostrophic formulation are discussed concerning: (1) the role of eddy forcing of the diabatic circulation, and (2) the nonlinear nearly inviscid limit vs the geostrophic limit. Problems associated with the traditional Rossby number scaling in quasi-geostrophic formulations are pointed out and an alternate, more general scaling based on the smallness of mean meridional to zonal velocities for a rotating planet is suggested. Such a scaling recovers the geostrophic balanced wind relationship for the mean zonal flow but reveals that the mean meridional velocity is in general ageostrophic.

Tung, K. K.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Seasonal variation of the stratospheric circulation

An extensive analysis is made of the extratropical stratospheric circulation in terms of the seasonal variation of large-scale motion fields, with the aid of height and temperature data obtained from the TIROS satellite. Special attention is paid to a comparison of climatological aspects between the Northern Hemisphere (NH) and the Southern Hemisphere (SH). In order to see the general picture of the annual mach of the upper stratosphere, the zonal mean values of geopotential height of the 1 mb level at 70 deg N and 70 deg S were plotted on the daily basis throughout a year. It is observed that, during the winter, the zonal mean 1 mb height in the NH is much more variable than that in the SH. It is also notable that the SH height is rather oscillatory throughout the longer period from midwinter to early summer. Since the zonal mean height in the polar latitude is a rough measure of the mean zonal flow in extratropical latitudes, the difference of the seasonal variation between the two hemispheres mentioned above is considered to be due mainly to the planetary wave-mean flow interaction in the middle atmosphere. The wave activity in the middle atmosphere is represented more rigorously by the Eliassen-Palm flux associated with vertically propagating planetary waves forced from below. The day-to-day variation of the EP flux in the upper stratosphere shows that the wave activity varies intermittently with a characteristic time scale of about two weeks.

Hirota, I.↗
NASA NTRS1986

The application of the quasi-geostrophic Eliassen-Palm flux to the analysis of stratospheric data

The quasi-geostrophic form of the Eliassen-Palm flux is calculated for steady linear planetary wave 1 in a realistic zonal flow with dissipation. This flux shows a region of divergence in the polar stratosphere that is similar to that found in time averages of observations. Comparison with the full primitive equation form of the Eliassen-Palm flux indicates that in the model this divergent region is spurious and results from the overestimation of the momentum flux divergence when it is calculated from geostrophic winds. An approximate expression for the Eliassen-Palm flux in terms of balanced winds is suggested as an alternative to the quasi-geostrophic form.

Robinson, W. A.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Atmospheric circulation of Venus

Observational data of Venus are utilized to study rotational effects on atmospheric circulations. The high surface temperature and planetary-scale turbulent motion at cloud tops, and the relation between energy and momentum budget are examined. The limited amount of data available on the vertical and horizontal distribution of net radiative heating, the zonal wind structure, and waves affects the study of the temperature and motion on Venus. The limitations of the scaling analysis used to estimate the properties of the circulation as regards the cyclostrophic balance, the extent of the Hadley circulation, large-scale wave transport, vertical propagation of waves, convection, and turbulence are considered. Hypotheses concerned with the deep, cloud-level, and upper atmospheres of Venus are proposed. Future research in the areas of propagating planetary- scale waves, zonal flow and planetary-scale wave instability processes, and convection is suggested.

Rossow, W. B.↗
NASA NTRS1986

The life cycles of persistent anomalies and blocking over the North Pacific

The evolution of persistent anomaly patterns over the central North Pacific is investigated. Composite time evolution fields of the 500-mbar anomaly patterns are constructed from low-pass and unfiltered height anomaly data; the time scales for the development and decay of these persistent anomalies are analyzed. The relationship between zonal flow in the Pacific jet region and the development of the anomaly patterns is examined. The effect of baroclinic instabilities on the development of the anomalies is studied. The vertical structure and synoptic characteristics of the evolution of the anomalies are described. It is noted that the initial rapid growth of the main center may be associated with a propagating, intensifying, synoptic-scale disturbance which originates in the midlatitudes over eastern Asia.

Dole, Randall M.↗
NASA NTRS1988

A two-dimensional model of the quasi biennial oscillation of ozone

The largest amplitudes of the observed Quasi Biennial Oscillation (QBO) in column ozone are found in high latitudes and this must be taken into account in any explanation of the increased depletion of ozone in the southern polar spring during the 1980's. A QBO in zonal wind, temperature and column ozone has been successfully modelled in a two-dimensional dynamical/chemical model by the introduction of a parameterization scheme to model the transfer of momentum to the zonal flow associated with the damping of vertically propagating Kelvin and Rossby-Gravity waves. The largest anomalies in column ozone of approximately 20 DU are present at high latitudes. The equatorial ozone QBO is out of phase with the mid- and high-latitude ozone QBO, in good agreement with observations.

Gray, L. J.↗
NASA NTRS1989

A perspective of Middle-Atmosphere Dynamics (MAD) studies at the New International Equatorial Observatory (NIEO)

The equatorial region has attracted many MAD studies mainly based on data of limited locations and resolutions. Established at NIEO are: (1) Climatology of the equatorial middle atmosphere (all of the mean zonal flow, the meridional and/or east-west circulations and the planetary/gravity waves are described based on massive, reliable data statistics); (2) Troposphere-stratosphere coupling at the equator (the candidate location of NIEO is just at the stratospheric fountain area where the tracers and waves are pumped up into the middle atmosphere); and (3) Mesosphere-thermosphere coupling at the equator; thermospheric superrotation, which may be caused either by ion drag or by tidal breaking, is examined in detail by observations covering a wide altitude range from the mesosphere through the thermosphere.

Yamanaka, M. D.↗
NASA NTRS1989

An investigation of resonant waves in a numerical model of an observed sudden stratospheric warming

A global quasi-linear time-dependent model that is able to represent the interaction of a single planetary Rossby wave with the zonal flow is used to investigate several questions concerning the role of resonance in the major stratospheric warming of February 1979. Special attention is given to the examination of the degree of dependence of the warming development on the phase speed of the wave and the initial mean flow. The results indicate that the preconditioning occurred early in the month, just after the minor sudden warming around February 5-7, and that a fairly broad range of eastward traveling phase speeds was capable of generating a warming. The model sensitivity tests indicate that the warming simulation has a weak dependence on the frequency of wave forcing and on the day used for initializing the basic state.

Smith, Anne K.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Air motions accompanying the development of a planetary wave critical layer

The horizontal air motions accompanying the development of a planetary wave critical layer are presently investigated on the sphere, in terms of wave amplitude, the characteristics of the zonal flow, and dissipation. While attention is given to adiabatic motions, which should furnish an upper bound on the redistribution of conserved quantities by eddy stirring, nonconservative processes may be important in determining how large a role eddy stirring actually plays in the redistribution of atmospheric constituents. Nonconservative processes may also influence tracer distributions by directly affecting dynamics.

Salby, Murry L.↗
NASA NTRS1990

The importance of non-quasigeostrophic forcing during the development of a blocking anticyclone

This study examines the impact of non-quasigeostrophic (NQG) processes during the development of a blocking anticyclone (January 21, 1979 over the southern tip of Greenland) and a precursor, upstream intense cyclone (January 18, 1979). Energy quantities and height tendencies determined from quasigeostrophic estimates are compared with the same quantities obtained from more general formulations. GLA FGGE Level III-b analysis on a 4 deg lat by 5 deg long grid was used to obtain energetics results. It is concluded that NQG processes strengthened the intensity of the block and a precursor explosive cyclone and that a portion of this increase resulted from enhanced baroclinic conversion of eddy potential to eddy kinetic energy and reduced barotropic energy conversion from eddy to zonal flow. It is suggested that NQG vorticity advection, instead of moderating wave developments, enhanced the block development, and it is also suggested that QG forcing might not have been adequate to produce the observed block development.

Tsou, Chih-Hua↗
NASA NTRS1990

Multiple weather regimes over the North Atlantic - Analysis of precursors and successors

Four weather regimes occurring over the Atlantic area and their preferred precursors and successors are identified. The first pattern exhibits the typical European blocking dipole, the second one represents an enhanced zonal flow, the third one consists of a positive anomaly over Greenland, and the last one is characterized by a ridge over the eastern Atlantic Ocean. The backward and forward memory times of the different regimes are established. Preferred precursor and successor patterns are identified as the maxima of the composite probability densities of the anomalies occurring before the onsets and after the breaks. The preferred transitions between regimes are also examined. The systematic aspect of this study gives rise to multiple applications, especially for case and composite studies on model prediction errors.

Vautard, R.↗
NASA NTRS1990

The effects of large-scale topography on the circulation in low-order models

This paper investigates the effect of topography on circulation produced by low-order quasi-geostrophic models that are capable of reproducing many basic features of midlatitude general circulation in the absence of topography. Using a simple two-level spectral model, time-mean stationary waves and low-frequency phenomena were examined for three different topographic configurations, of which two consisted of a sinusoidal mountain-valley structure, and the third was the Fourier representation of an isolated mountain peak. In the experiment with an isolated mountain, it was found that the time-mean wave in the model was highly dependent on the operation of wave-wave interactions, which had a significant impact on stationary waves through modifications in the mean zonal flow.

O'Brien, Enda↗
NASA NTRS1991

Quasi-geostrophic wave-CISK in an unbounded baroclinic shear

The free-shear problem, a minimal version of baroclinic, quasi-geostrophic wave-CISK is analyzed. The basic state consists of a zonal flow, unbounded above and below, with constant vertical shear and Brunt-Vaisala frequency and zero meridional gradient of the potential vorticity. Convective heating is parameterized in terms of the convergence below an arbitrary level. Consideration of the potential vorticity dynamics of the unstable modes illustrates how heating may act as a dynamical surrogate for potential vorticity gradients. Although highly idealized, the free-shear problem also explains much of the behavior of more general wave-CISK models.

Snyder, Chris↗
NASA NTRS1991

The influence of the equatorial QBO on sudden stratospheric warmings

A global primitive-equation model of the stratosphere and mesosphere is integrated for specified planetary-wave forcing at the 100-mb level with mean zonal flow conditions corresponding to the westerly and easterly phases of the equatorial QBO, respectively. The responses in the two QBO phases were compared for integrations with wavenumber-1 forcing-amplitude maxima at 100 mb and 60 deg N varying from 100 to 400 m. The phase of the QBO had little effect on the results in the weak-wave (100-m) cases, which did not produce warmings, and strong-wave (400-m) cases, which produced major sudden warmings.

Holton, James R.↗
NASA NTRS1991

The effects of transience on the propagation of stratospheric planetary waves

The propagation of planetary-scale Rossby waves in the stratosphere is investigated in a linear, time-dependent, primitive equation model. Two distinct maxima in the convergence of the Eliassen-Palm flux (EP flux) are found for steady and for transient waves in a variety of realistic northern hemisphere, winter season, zonal flows; one below the stratospheric polar jet and the other north of the zero wind line. These maxima appear at higher altitudes for wave 1 than for wave 2, especially in low latitudes. Different mechanisms cause the formation of these two maxima. The confinement of wave activity in high latitudes is mainly due to the dissipation of waves in that region under non-WKBJ conditions. The maximum in lower latitudes is related to the absorption of Rossby waves near their critical lines. For wave 2, the intensity of the high latitude maximum is sensitive to the transience of the wave forcing at the tropopause, while for wave 1 this sensitivity is reduced. For both waves the low latitude maximum shifts northward with increasing transience.

Chen, Ping↗
NASA NTRS1991

Measurement of winds in Venus' upper mesosphere based on Doppler shifts of the 2.6-mm (C-12)O line

Venus observations conducted in 1988 at the first rotational transition of (C-12)O finely sampled this absorption line by means of a 32-channel filter bank; with this spatial and spectral resolution, it proved possible to measure Doppler shifts of the absorption line across the planet due to strong winds in Venus' upper mesosphere. The Doppler shifts change in a way that is indicative of westward horizontal winds. The radial wind speeds from the Doppler shifts were smoothed to reduce noise and then fitted in least-squares fashion to canonical forms of the lower atmosphere's westward zonal flow. The two flows exhibit a high correlation in orientation.

Shah, Kathryn P.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Remote sensing of mesospheric winds with the High-Resolution Doppler Imager

Observations of the winds in the upper atmosphere obtained with the High-Resolution Doppler Imager (HRDI) on the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) are discussed. This instrument is a very stable high-resolution triple-etalon Fabry-Perot interferometer, which is used to observe the slight Doppler shifts of absorption and emission lines in the O2 Atmospheric bands induced by atmospheric motions. Preliminary observations indicate that the winds in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere are a mixture of migrating and non-migrating tides, and planetary-scale waves. The mean meridional winds are dominated by the 1,1 diurnal tide which is easily extracted from the daily zonal means of the satellite observations. The daily mean zonal winds are a mixture of the diurnal tide and a zonal flow which is consistent with theoretical expectations.

Hays, Paul B.↗