Towards a more ‘scale‐aware’ orographic gravity wave drag parametrization: description and initial testing

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Niekerk ◽  
S.B. Vosper
Keyword(s):  
Gravity Wave ◽  
Wave Drag ◽  
Initial Testing

Self-Acceleration in the Parameterization of Orographic Gravity Wave Drag

2010 ◽  
Vol 67 (8) ◽  
pp. 2537-2546 ◽  
Author(s):  
John F. Scinocca ◽  
Bruce R. Sutherland
Keyword(s):  
Gravity Wave ◽  
Middle Atmosphere ◽  
Wave Train ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Wave Theory ◽  
Wave Drag ◽  
Tuning Parameter ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Propagating Waves ◽  
The Impact

Abstract A new effect related to the evaluation of momentum deposition in conventional parameterizations of orographic gravity wave drag (GWD) is considered. The effect takes the form of an adjustment to the basic-state wind about which steady-state wave solutions are constructed. The adjustment is conservative and follows from wave–mean flow theory associated with wave transience at the leading edge of the wave train, which sets up the steady solution assumed in such parameterizations. This has been referred to as “self-acceleration” and it is shown to induce a systematic lowering of the elevation of momentum deposition, which depends quadratically on the amplitude of the wave. An expression for the leading-order impact of self-acceleration is derived in terms of a reduction of the critical inverse Froude number Fc, which determines the onset of wave breaking for upwardly propagating waves in orographic GWD schemes. In such schemes Fc is a central tuning parameter and typical values are generally smaller than anticipated from conventional wave theory. Here it is suggested that self-acceleration may provide some of the explanation for why such small values of Fc are required. The impact of Fc on present-day climate is illustrated by simulations of the Canadian Middle Atmosphere Model.

Effects of Non-orographic Gravity Wave Drag on Seasonal and Medium-range Predictions in a Global Forecast Model

2018 ◽  
Vol 54 (S1) ◽  
pp. 385-402 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyun-Joo Choi ◽  
Ji-Young Han ◽  
Myung-Seo Koo ◽  
Hye-Yeong Chun ◽  
Young-Ha Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gravity Wave ◽  
Forecast Model ◽  
Wave Drag ◽  
Medium Range

scholarly journals The southern stratospheric gravity wave hot spot: individual waves and their momentum fluxes measured by COSMIC GPS-RO

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (14) ◽  
pp. 7797-7818 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. P. Hindley ◽  
C. J. Wright ◽  
N. D. Smith ◽  
N. J. Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Gravity Wave ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Hot Spot ◽  
Polar Vortex ◽  
General Circulation Models ◽  
Wave Drag ◽  
Southern Andes ◽  
Analysis Technique ◽  
Modelling Studies

Abstract. Nearly all general circulation models significantly fail to reproduce the observed behaviour of the southern wintertime polar vortex. It has been suggested that these biases result from an underestimation of gravity wave drag on the atmosphere at latitudes near 60° S, especially around the "hot spot" of intense gravity wave fluxes above the mountainous Southern Andes and Antarctic peninsula. Here, we use Global Positioning System radio occultation (GPS-RO) data from the COSMIC satellite constellation to determine the properties of gravity waves in the hot spot and beyond. We show considerable southward propagation to latitudes near 60° S of waves apparently generated over the southern Andes. We propose that this propagation may account for much of the wave drag missing from the models. Furthermore, there is a long leeward region of increased gravity wave energy that sweeps eastwards from the mountains over the Southern Ocean. Despite its striking nature, the source of this region has historically proved difficult to determine. Our observations suggest that this region includes both waves generated locally and orographic waves advected downwind from the hot spot. We describe and use a new wavelet-based analysis technique for the quantitative identification of individual waves from COSMIC temperature profiles. This analysis reveals different geographical regimes of wave amplitude and short-timescale variability in the wave field over the Southern Ocean. Finally, we use the increased numbers of closely spaced pairs of profiles from the deployment phase of the COSMIC constellation in 2006 to make estimates of gravity wave horizontal wavelengths. We show that, given sufficient observations, GPS-RO can produce physically reasonable estimates of stratospheric gravity wave momentum flux in the hot spot that are consistent with measurements made by other techniques. We discuss our results in the context of previous satellite and modelling studies and explain how they advance our understanding of the nature and origins of waves in the southern stratosphere.

scholarly journals Compensation between Resolved Wave Driving and Parameterized Orographic Gravity Wave Driving of the Brewer–Dobson Circulation and Its Response to Climate Change

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (14) ◽  
pp. 5601-5610 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Sigmond ◽  
Theodore G. Shepherd
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Gravity Wave ◽  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
Rossby Wave ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Wave Drag ◽  
High Latitudes ◽  
Remarkable Degree ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Following recent findings, the interaction between resolved (Rossby) wave drag and parameterized orographic gravity wave drag (OGWD) is investigated, in terms of their driving of the Brewer–Dobson circulation (BDC), in a comprehensive climate model. To this end, the parameter that effectively determines the strength of OGWD in present-day and doubled CO2 simulations is varied. The authors focus on the Northern Hemisphere during winter when the largest response of the BDC to climate change is predicted to occur. It is found that increases in OGWD are to a remarkable degree compensated by a reduction in midlatitude resolved wave drag, thereby reducing the impact of changes in OGWD on the BDC. This compensation is also found for the response to climate change: changes in the OGWD contribution to the BDC response to climate change are compensated by opposite changes in the resolved wave drag contribution to the BDC response to climate change, thereby reducing the impact of changes in OGWD on the BDC response to climate change. By contrast, compensation does not occur at northern high latitudes, where resolved wave driving and the associated downwelling increase with increasing OGWD, both for the present-day climate and the response to climate change. These findings raise confidence in the credibility of climate model projections of the strengthened BDC.

scholarly journals The GCM Response to Current Parameterizations of Nonorographic Gravity Wave Drag

2005 ◽  
Vol 62 (7) ◽  
pp. 2394-2413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles McLandress ◽  
John F. Scinocca
Keyword(s):  
Gravity Wave ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Critical Level ◽  
Climate Modeling ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Wave Drag ◽  
Nonlinear Dissipation ◽  
Additional Experiment ◽  
Identical Response ◽  
Dissipation Mechanism

Abstract A comparison is undertaken of the response of a general circulation model (GCM) to the nonorographic gravity wave drag parameterizations of Hines, Warner and McIntyre, and Alexander and Dunkerton. The analysis is restricted to a comparison of each parameterization’s nonlinear dissipation mechanism since, in principle, this is the only component that differs between the schemes. This is achieved by developing a new, more general parameterization that can represent each of these dissipation mechanisms, while keeping all other aspects of the problem identical. The GCM simulations reveal differences in the climatological response to the three dissipation mechanisms. These differences are documented for both tropopause and surface launch elevations of the parameterized waves. The simulations also reveal systematic differences in the height at which momentum is deposited. This behavior is investigated further in a set of experiments designed to reduce these systematic differences, while leaving the details of the dissipation mechanisms unaltered. These sensitivity experiments demonstrate that it is possible to obtain nearly identical responses from all three mechanisms, which indicates that the GCM response is largely insensitive to the precise details of the dissipation mechanisms. This finding is supported by an additional experiment in which the nonlinear dissipation mechanisms are turned off and critical-level filtering is left to act as the only source of dissipation. In this experiment, critical-level filtering effectively replaces the nonlinear dissipation mechanism, producing a nearly identical response. The results of this study suggest that climate modeling efforts would potentially benefit more from the refinement of other aspects of the parameterization problem, such as the properties of the launch spectrum, than they have benefited from the refinement of dissipation mechanisms.

scholarly journals The semiannual oscillation (SAO) in the tropical middle atmosphere and its gravity wave driving in reanalyses and satellite observations

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (18) ◽  
pp. 13763-13795
Author(s):  
Manfred Ern ◽  
Mohamadou Diallo ◽  
Peter Preusse ◽  
Martin G. Mlynczak ◽  
Michael J. Schwartz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gravity Wave ◽  
Gravity Waves ◽  
Wave Drag ◽  
Satellite Observations ◽  
Absolute Gravity ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Background Wind ◽  
Wind Climatology ◽  
Basic Features ◽  
Semiannual Oscillation

Abstract. Gravity waves play a significant role in driving the semiannual oscillation (SAO) of the zonal wind in the tropics. However, detailed knowledge of this forcing is missing, and direct estimates from global observations of gravity waves are sparse. For the period 2002–2018, we investigate the SAO in four different reanalyses: ERA-Interim, JRA-55, ERA-5, and MERRA-2. Comparison with the SPARC zonal wind climatology and quasi-geostrophic winds derived from Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) and Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) satellite observations show that the reanalyses reproduce some basic features of the SAO. However, there are also large differences, depending on the model setup. Particularly, MERRA-2 seems to benefit from dedicated tuning of the gravity wave drag parameterization and assimilation of MLS observations. To study the interaction of gravity waves with the background wind, absolute values of gravity wave momentum fluxes and a proxy for absolute gravity wave drag derived from SABER satellite observations are compared with different wind data sets: the SPARC wind climatology; data sets combining ERA-Interim at low altitudes and MLS or SABER quasi-geostrophic winds at high altitudes; and data sets that combine ERA-Interim, SABER quasi-geostrophic winds, and direct wind observations by the TIMED Doppler Interferometer (TIDI). In the lower and middle mesosphere the SABER absolute gravity wave drag proxy correlates well with positive vertical gradients of the background wind, indicating that gravity waves contribute mainly to the driving of the SAO eastward wind phases and their downward propagation with time. At altitudes 75–85 km, the SABER absolute gravity wave drag proxy correlates better with absolute values of the background wind, suggesting a more direct forcing of the SAO winds by gravity wave amplitude saturation. Above about 80 km SABER gravity wave drag is mainly governed by tides rather than by the SAO. The reanalyses reproduce some basic features of the SAO gravity wave driving: all reanalyses show stronger gravity wave driving of the SAO eastward phase in the stratopause region. For the higher-top models ERA-5 and MERRA-2, this is also the case in the lower mesosphere. However, all reanalyses are limited by model-inherent damping in the upper model levels, leading to unrealistic features near the model top. Our analysis of the SABER and reanalysis gravity wave drag suggests that the magnitude of SAO gravity wave forcing is often too weak in the free-running general circulation models; therefore, a more realistic representation is needed.

scholarly journals Improved Circulation in the Northern Hemisphere by Adjusting Gravity Wave Drag Parameterisations in Seasonal Experiments with ICON‐NWP

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raphael Köhler ◽  
Dörthe Handorf ◽  
Ralf Jaiser ◽  
Klaus Dethloff ◽  
Günther Zängl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gravity Wave ◽  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
Wave Drag

Effects of Nonlinearity on Convectively Forced Internal Gravity Waves: Application to a Gravity Wave Drag Parameterization

2008 ◽  
Vol 65 (2) ◽  
pp. 557-575 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hye-Yeong Chun ◽  
Hyun-Joo Choi ◽  
In-Sun Song
Keyword(s):  
Gravity Wave ◽  
Gravity Waves ◽  
Momentum Flux ◽  
Lower Thermosphere ◽  
Internal Gravity Waves ◽  
Wave Drag ◽  
Scale Factor ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Flux Spectrum ◽  
Diabatic Forcing

Abstract In the present study, the authors propose a way to include a nonlinear forcing effect on the momentum flux spectrum of convectively forced internal gravity waves using a nondimensional numerical model (NDM) in a two-dimensional framework. In NDM, the nonlinear forcing is represented by nonlinear advection terms multiplied by the nonlinearity factor (NF) of the thermally induced internal gravity waves for a given specified diabatic forcing. It was found that the magnitudes of the waves and resultant momentum flux above the specified forcing decrease with increasing NF due to cancellation between the two forcing mechanisms. Using the momentum flux spectrum obtained by the NDM simulations with various NFs, a scale factor for the momentum flux, normalized by the momentum flux induced by diabatic forcing alone, is formulated as a function of NF. Inclusion of the nonlinear forcing effect into current convective gravity wave drag (GWD) parameterizations, which consider diabatic forcing alone by multiplying the cloud-top momentum flux spectrum by the scale factor, is proposed. An updated convective GWD parameterization using the scale factor is implemented into the NCAR Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM). The 10-yr simulation results, compared with those by the original convective GWD parameterization considering diabatic forcing alone, showed that the magnitude of the zonal-mean cloud-top momentum flux is reduced for wide range of phase speed spectrum by about 10%, except in the middle latitude storm-track regions where the cloud-top momentum flux is amplified. The zonal drag forcing is determined largely by the wave propagation condition under the reduced magnitude of the cloud-top momentum flux, and its magnitude decreases in many regions, but there are several areas of increasing drag forcing, especially in the tropical upper mesosphere and lower thermosphere.

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