Considerable theoretical work has been done attempting to model persistent atmospheric flow patterns (blocking) with localized, coherent structures superimposed on a mean westerly wind, in particular by Malguzzi (1984). In Malguzzi's theory, which assumes a baroclinic atmosphere, the existence of the coherent structure solution requires that certain constraints be satisfied by the mean zonal wi...

A 36-h adjoint-based forecast sensitivity study of three response functions defined in the lower troposphere—average temperature in an isolated region of the upper Midwest (R1), meridional temperature difference (R2), and average zonal component of the wind (R3)—is conducted with the goal of providing a synoptic and dynamic interpretation of the sensitivity gradient structure and evolution. In ...

The 1997–98 El Niño was both unusually strong and terminated unusually. Warm eastern equatorial Pacific (EEqP) sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTAs) exceeded 4°C at the event peak and lasted well into boreal spring of 1998, even though subsurface temperatures began cooling in December 1997. The oceanic processes that controlled this unusual termination are explored here and can be character...

A zonal-average model of the upper branch of the meridional overturning circulation of the southern ocean is constructed and used to discuss the processes – wind, buoyancy, eddy forcing and boundary conditions – that control its strength and sense of circulation. The geometry of the thermocline ‘wedge’, set by the mapping between the vertical spacing of buoyancy surfaces (the stratification) on...

As in the midlatitude atmosphere, midocean eddies are primarily generated by baroclinically unstable mean currents. In contrast to the atmosphere, however, oceanic currents are significantly nonzonal. Even weak nonzonal currents are linearly unstable since does not suppress growing meridional waves. Theories for the nonlinear equilibration of baroclinic instability, and hence theories for the a...

Ozone performs a key role in the middle atmosphere and its monitoring is thus necessary. At the Institute of Applied Physics of the University of Bern, Switzerland, we built a new ground-based microwave radiometer, GROMOS-C (GRound based Ozone MOnitoring System for Campaigns). It has a compact design and can be operated remotely with very little maintenance requirements, being therefore suitabl...

[1] Mars Global Surveyor is providing the first observations of transient eddies in the southern hemisphere of Mars. We derive basic properties of the traveling eddies that appear in midwinter (Ls = 134 –148 ) through analysis of radio occultation measurements at 67 –70 S latitude. The dominant mode has a period of 2 solar days and a zonal wavenumber s = 3. Strong zonal variations in eddy ampli...

[1] The dynamics of the seasonal cycle in the upper equatorial Atlantic ocean are studied using observations and a hierarchy of ocean models. Distinctive features of the seasonal cycle are strong annual and semiannual components: eastward (westward) propagating sea surface height (SSH) and thermocline depth at the equator (off the equator) and westward propagating surface zonal currents at the ...

Abstract. Since its launch in 2018, the European Space Agency's Earth Explorer satellite Aeolus has provided global height resolved measurements of horizontal wind troposphere and lower stratosphere for first time. Novel datasets such as these provide an unprecedented opportunity research atmospheric dynamics new insights into upper (UTLS) region. measures component along line-of-sight, but ana...