Breaking planetary waves in the stratosphere

McIntyre, Michael E.; Palmer, Tim

doi:10.1038/305593a0

Cited by 651 publications

(394 citation statements)

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“…The correlation between the number of events and [U m ] is According to the criterion of the SOI less/greater than 0.5 × σ , 10 years are selected to analyze the differences in atmospheric patterns between EN and LN years (Table I). The selected EN years show a large number of HIGH-PV events in the tropical CEN are 1982/1983, 1986/1987, 1989/1990and 1991/1992and the CLN are 1996/1997, 1998/1999, 1999/2000and 2000/2001. Arkin and Webster (1985) observed that in EN years there is an intensification of U m in the region of the 'westerly ducts' over the equatorial SAO, favoring the propagation of waves between the extratropics and tropics.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Rossby wave breaking (RWB) is characterized by rapid irreversible deformation of potential vorticity (PV) on isentropic surfaces (McIntyre and Palmer, 1983). This dynamic mechanism is responsible for the mixing of air masses with different characteristics and operates in the transport of water vapor and ozone between troposphere and stratosphere (Holton et al, 1995;Scott and Cammas, 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Interannual variability of high potential vorticity in South Atlantic

Barbosa

Rao

Cavalcanti

2011

Atmosph. Sci. Lett.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interannual variability of high potential vorticity in South Atlantic

Barbosa

Rao

Cavalcanti

2011

Atmosph. Sci. Lett.

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“…If the horizontal amplification of these undulations attains an irreversible character, the process is referred to as wave breaking (McIntyre and Palmer 1983). During such breaking events, the strongly deformed intrusions of stratospheric air into the troposphere only retain a thin connection to the stratospheric body of air.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Breaking Waves at the Tropopause in the Wintertime Northern Hemisphere: Climatological Analyses of the Orientation and the Theoretical LC1/2 Classification

Martius

Schwierz

Davies

2007

Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences

124

154

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Breaking waves on the tropopause are viewed as potential vorticity (PV) streamers on middle-world isentropic levels. A Northern Hemisphere winter climatology of the streamers' spatial distribution and meridional orientation is derived from the 40-yr ECMWF Re-Analysis (ERA-40) dataset, and used to assess the nature and frequency of occurrence of breaking synoptic-scale waves. The streamers are grouped into two classes related to the so-called cyclonic (LC2) and anticyclonic (LC1) patterns, and the ambient wind strength and wind shear is also noted.It is shown that the occurrence of cyclonic and anticyclonic PV streamers exhibits a distinct spatial variability in the horizontal and the vertical. The majority of cyclonic PV streamers are found on lower isentropic levels that intersect the tropopause at more poleward latitudes, whereas anticyclonic streamers predominate at higher elevations in the subtropics.An analysis of the streamer patterns for the two phases of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) reveals significant differences in the location and frequency of both cyclonic and anticyclonic streamers in the Euro-Atlantic region on the 310-K isentropic level. Likewise, for the two phases of the ENSO and the Pacific-North American (PNA) pattern, there are marked differences in the frequency pattern of cyclonic streamers. An examination of the tropopause-level hemispheric flow pattern at the time of and prior to a streamer's formation indicates a linkage to the presence or absence of double jet structures.

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“…The high-PV anomalies associated with the COLs are likely to be residues of the Rossby wave breaking (RWB) process. RWB is defined as the rapid and irreversible deformation of PV material contours (McIntyre and Palmer, 1983) such that the meridional PV gradient reverses (Baldwin and Holton, 1988;Postel and Hitchman, 1999;Hitchman and Huesmann, 2007). During the late stages of certain types of the RWB process, blobs of high-PV air form (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The link between cut-off lows and Rossby wave breaking in the Southern Hemisphere

Ndarana

Waugh

2010

Q.J.R. Meteorol. Soc.

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The climatological link between cut-off low (COL) pressure systems that occur from 20 to 50 • S and Rossby wave breaking (RWB) in the Southern Hemisphere (SH) is examined for 1979-2008. It is shown that COLs are associated with either RWB events (89%) or with potential vorticity (PV) intrusions where there is north-south advection of high-PV air (11%). In the vast majority of COLs, the RWB events occur upstream, on or before the day of the COL formation. The evolution of the PV, geopotential heights, static stability, absolute vorticity and temperature advection fields during the COLs are consistent with the formation of high-PV anomalies that induce cyclonic circulations as predicted by theory. RWB plays a key role in producing the split flow associated with COLs in the SH, which in turn produces absolute vorticity anomalies by shear-curvature vorticity conversion, and creates static stability anomalies. The COLs associated with RWB at 330 K are deeper and more persistent than those associated with 350 K RWB and surface processes differ depending on the isentropic surface on which the associated RWB occurs. The seasonality of the RWB and COLs are similar, and is linked to the seasonal march of the westerly jets.

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Breaking planetary waves in the stratosphere

Cited by 651 publications

References 29 publications

Interannual variability of high potential vorticity in South Atlantic

Interannual variability of high potential vorticity in South Atlantic

Breaking Waves at the Tropopause in the Wintertime Northern Hemisphere: Climatological Analyses of the Orientation and the Theoretical LC1/2 Classification

The link between cut-off lows and Rossby wave breaking in the Southern Hemisphere

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