Planetary Scale Atmospheric Circulation

Abstract

Atmospheric circulation characteristics on a planetary scale can largely, but not completely be described by the distribution of properties in meridional-vertical cross-sections. Thus the distribution of temperature and humidity is discussed in Section 3.1. The temperature and humidity distribution is, through the thickness pattern and the slope of constant pressure surfaces, related to the zonal wind regime, as reviewed in Section 3.2. The mean meridional circulation is likewise considered in Section 3.3. By contrast, the maintenance of the circulation in terms of angular momentum and kinetic energy, as discussed in Sections 3.4 and 3.5, involves eddy mechanisms and cannot be accounted for by mean property distributions in meridional-vertical planes. Since kinetic energy amounts only to a small fraction of the total energy content, it is here considered separate from the budgets of heat and moisture addressed in Chapter 5.