On the numerical evaluation of the energy conversion integral

Abstract

Numerical results of the “αω‐” and the “vω Vφ‐formulation” of the atmospheric energy conversion integral, as derived from ECMWF‐data, are presented and discussed. It is shown that even global integrals of either formulation are considerably different. If the integration area is restricted to hemispheres, the differences — though growing somewhat larger — are of similar magnitude. The results suggest that numerical evaluations of the baroclinic energy conversion process are still associated with a considerable degree of uncertainty.