Abstract
The large-scale terms in the vorticity equation are evaluated using Krishnamurti’s (1971a, b) summer mean winds at 200 mb for a global belt from 25°S to 45°N. The production of vorticity by the divergent wind field is found to be imbalanced over all of the tropical and subtropical belt. As a result there is a requirement for a sub-grid scale (space or time) mechanism which removes negative vorticity from the regions of strong divergence (Tibetan and Mexican highlands) and removes positive vorticity from the regions of strong convergence (mid-oceanic troughs) at 200 mb during northern summer at a rate of approximately 4 × 10−10 sec−2. As suggested by Holton and Colton (1972), in regions of strong and persistent convection, such as the Tibetan Plateau, deep cumulus clouds can account for this transport. However, the mechanism for removing positive vorticity in the vicinity of the upper tropospheric mid-oceanic troughs is still an intriguing and open question.
On leave-of-absence at the National Science Foundation, Climate Dynamics Research Section
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Abbott, D. A. (1973), Scale interactions of forced quasi-stationary planetary waves at low latitudes. Rept. 73–2, Dept. of Meteorology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, 190 pp.
Burger, A. P. (1958), Scale considerations of planetary motions of the atmosphere, Tellus 10, 195–205.
Charney, J. G. (1947), The dynamics of long waves in a baroclinic westerly current, J. Meteor. 4, 135–162.
Charney, J. G. (1948), On the scale of atmospheric motions, Geophys. Publ. 17, 17 pp.
Charney, J. G. (1963), A note on large-scale motions in the trópics, J. Atmos. Sci. 20, 607–609.
COLTON, D. E. (1973), Barotropic scale interactions in the tropical upper troposphere during the Northern summer, Unpublished manuscript, Dept. of Atmos. Sci., University of Washington, Seattle, Wash., 43 pp.
Holton, J. R. and Colton, D. E. (1972), A diagnostic study of the vorticity balance at 200 mb in the tropics during the northern summer, J. Atmos. Sci. 29, 1124–1128.
Krishnamurti, T. N. (1971a), Observational study of tropical upper tropospheric motion field during northern hemisphere summer, J. Appl. Meteor. 10, 1066–1096.
Krishnamurti, T. N. (1971b), Tropical east—west circulations during the northern summer, J. Atmos. Sci. 28, 1342–1347.
Reed, R. J. and Johnson, R. H. (1974), The vorticity budget of synoptic-scale wave disturbances in the tropical Western Pacific, J. Atmos. Sci. 31, 1784–1790.
Riehl, H. and Pearce, R. P. (1968), Studies on the interaction between synoptic and mesoscale weather elements in the tropics, Part II: Vorticity budgets derived from Caribbean data,Atmos. Sci. Paper No. 126, Colorado State University, 33 pp.
Williams, K. T. (1970), A statistical analysis of satellite-observed trade wind cloud clusters in the western North Pacific. Rept. No. 161, Dept. of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, 1–80.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1978 Springer Basel AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Fein, J.S. (1978). Global Vorticity Budget Over the Tropics and Subtropics at 200-mb During Northern Hemisphere Summer. In: Monsoon Dynamics. Contributions to Current Research in Geophysics (CCRG). Birkhäuser, Basel. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-0348-5759-8_20
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-0348-5759-8_20
Publisher Name: Birkhäuser, Basel
Print ISBN: 978-3-0348-5760-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-0348-5759-8
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive