Estimation of the Kelvin Wave Contribution to the Semiannual oscillation
Open Access
- 1 May 1988
- journal article
- Published by American Meteorological Society in Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences
- Vol. 45 (9) , 1462-1475
- https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1988)045<1462:eotkwc>2.0.co;2
Abstract
The behavior of Kelvin waves in the equatorial middle atmosphere is investigated with the use of daily mapped temperature derived from the Limb Infrared Monitor of the Stratosphere (LIMS) experiment. Diagrams of wave activity per unit mass and wave activity flux density concisely illustrate bulk properties of Kelvin waves and facilitate tracing of packets to source times near the tropopause. Kelvin wave packets of different zonal wavenumbers propagate separately and appear to be forced separately. During the LIMS data period (25 October 1978–28 May 1979) two Kelvin wave regimes are found. Packets of wave one, wave two, or wave three Kelvin waves occur at irregular intervals prior to April. During April and May a nearly continuous upward flux of wave one activity dominates. For very tall Kelvin waves the observed dependence of vertical wavelength on zonal wind is weaker than predicted by the slowly-varying theory for internal gravity waves. However, most properties of the observed waves are consis... Abstract The behavior of Kelvin waves in the equatorial middle atmosphere is investigated with the use of daily mapped temperature derived from the Limb Infrared Monitor of the Stratosphere (LIMS) experiment. Diagrams of wave activity per unit mass and wave activity flux density concisely illustrate bulk properties of Kelvin waves and facilitate tracing of packets to source times near the tropopause. Kelvin wave packets of different zonal wavenumbers propagate separately and appear to be forced separately. During the LIMS data period (25 October 1978–28 May 1979) two Kelvin wave regimes are found. Packets of wave one, wave two, or wave three Kelvin waves occur at irregular intervals prior to April. During April and May a nearly continuous upward flux of wave one activity dominates. For very tall Kelvin waves the observed dependence of vertical wavelength on zonal wind is weaker than predicted by the slowly-varying theory for internal gravity waves. However, most properties of the observed waves are consis...Keywords
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