Horizontal wavenumber spectra of winds, temperature, and trace gases during the Pacific Exploratory Missions: 1. Climatology
Name
Choetal-1999JGR1.pdf
Size
1.49 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
7692c0ba9621c6c3a2a490baf7a29641
Author(s)
Cho, John Y. N.
Zhu, Yong
Newell, Reginald E.
Anderson, Bruce E.
Barrick, John D.
Gregory, Gerald L.
Sachse, Glen W.
Carroll, Mary Anne
Albercook, George M.
Date Issued
March 1999
Journal
Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
Publisher
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Citation
Cho, John Y. N. et al. “Horizontal Wavenumber Spectra of Winds, Temperature, and Trace Gases During the Pacific Exploratory Missions: 1. Climatology.” Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 104, D5 (March 1, 1999): 5697–5716 © 1999 American Geophysical Union
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Aircraft-based meteorological and chemical measurements from NASA's Pacific Exploratory Missions provide a suitable database for studying the climatology of horizontal wavenumber spectra in the troposphere overlying an ocean. The wavenumber spectra of trace gas and meteorological quantities aid in identifying the physical processes producing atmospheric structures as well as provide diagnostics for general circulation models. Flight segments were distributed over altitudes ranging from about ∼50 m to 13 km and 70°S to 60°N in latitude. The spectra were averaged according to altitude and latitude regions. The wavelength range covered was typically ∼0.5–100 km. Quantities processed in this way were horizontal velocity, potential temperature, specific humidity, and the mixing ratios of ozone, methane, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide. Spectral power and slope (in log-log coordinates) corresponding to the wavelength regime of 6–60 km were tabulated for those measured quantities. The spectral slopes of horizontal velocity and potential temperature were generally close to −5/3 with no transition to a steeper slope at short wavelengths as seen in some other studies. Spectral slopes of the tracer species also ranged around −5/3. This agreement in form of the dynamical and tracer spectra is consistent with both the gravity-wave advection and quasi two-dimensional turbulence models. In the upper troposphere the spectral power for all quantities except specific humidity tended to be greater at latitudes higher than 30° compared to latitudes lower than 30°. This latitudinal trend confirms the earlier results of the Global Atmospheric Sampling Program.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
Terms of Use
Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1029/98JD01825
