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Large-Scale Zonal Flows Near the Solar Surface

A Comparison of Results from Local and Global Helioseismology with Direct Doppler Measurements

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Abstract

Migrating bands of weak, zonal flow, associated with the activity bands in the solar cycle, have been observed at the solar surface for some time. More recently, these flows have been probed deep within the convection zone using global helioseismology and examined in more detail close to the surface with the techniques of local helioseismology. We compare the near-surface results from global and local helioseismology using data from the Michelson Doppler Imager and the Global Oscillation Network Group with surface Doppler velocity measurements from the Mount Wilson 150-foot tower and find that the results are in reasonable agreement, with some explicable differences in detail. All of the data sets show zones of faster rotation approaching the equator from mid-latitudes during the solar cycle, with a variation at any given location that can be approximately, but not completely, described by a single sinusoid and an amplitude that does not drop off steeply below the surface.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Solar Observatory, 950 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ, 85719, USA

    R. Howe, R. Komm & F. Hill

  2. Department of Astronomy, UCLA, 405 Hilgard Ave., Los Angeles, CA, 90024-1562, USA

    R. Ulrich

  3. Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, JILA, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 80309-0440, USA

    D. A. Haber & B. W. Hindman

  4. HEPL Annex A201, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305-4085, USA

    J. Schou

  5. Department of Applied Mathematics, University of Sheffield, Hounsfield Road, Sheffield, S3 7RH, UK

    M. J. Thompson

Authors
  1. R. Howe
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  2. R. Komm
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  3. F. Hill
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  4. R. Ulrich
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  5. D. A. Haber
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  6. B. W. Hindman
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  7. J. Schou
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  8. M. J. Thompson
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Correspondence to R. Howe.

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Howe, R., Komm, R., Hill, F. et al. Large-Scale Zonal Flows Near the Solar Surface. Sol Phys 235, 1–15 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11207-006-0117-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11207-006-0117-2

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