Presentation is loading. Please wait.

Presentation is loading. Please wait.

Planetary-Scale Mountain Waves Planetary-scale waves are observed that remain fixed with respect to the earth’s surface: Possible causes are geographic.

Similar presentations


Presentation on theme: "Planetary-Scale Mountain Waves Planetary-scale waves are observed that remain fixed with respect to the earth’s surface: Possible causes are geographic."— Presentation transcript:

1 Planetary-Scale Mountain Waves Planetary-scale waves are observed that remain fixed with respect to the earth’s surface: Possible causes are geographic distribution of: –Mountains (Charney and Eliassen 1949) –Land/sea differences and inequitable distribution of sensible and latent heating (Smagorinsky 1953) After 30 years of debate, answer settled that both are important, but mountains perhaps a little more so

2 500 mb Height

3 Sea Level Pressure

4 Gross-simplification of planetary-scale stationary waves Himalayas/ Tibetan Plateau Rockies Upper- tropospheric flow Kuroshio Gulf Stream

5 Ertel’s Potential Vorticity P = (  + f ) /  p Potential vorticity conserved for adiabatic, large-scale motion Mountain pp pp E

6 Conservation of Potential Vorticity Mountain P = (  + f ) /  p  anticyclonic; clockwise  cyclonic; counterclockwise  

7 700 mb Height (Stone 2001)

8 700 mb Vorticity (Stone 2001)

9 Held

10

11 Manabe and Terpstra (1974) Observed

12 Manabe and Terpstra (1974) With Mountains Observed

13 Manabe and Terpstra (1974) Without Mountains Observed

14 200 mb Height (Stone 2001)


Download ppt "Planetary-Scale Mountain Waves Planetary-scale waves are observed that remain fixed with respect to the earth’s surface: Possible causes are geographic."

Similar presentations


Ads by Google