A Synoptic Climatology of Northern Hemisphere, Cold Season Polar and Subtropical Jet Superposition Events

Narrow, tropopause-level wind speed maxima known as jet streams or jets are among the most ubiquitous structural characteristics of Earth’s atmosphere. Two species, the polar and subtropical jets, can be observed on any given day. The polar jet is tied, via eddy momentum flux convergence associated with extratropical wave development, to the troposphere-deep baroclinicity of the midlatitudes, while the subtropical jet is tied, by angular momentum constraints, to the poleward edge of the tropical Hadley cell. As a consequence of their different origins, the polar and subtropical jets are separated by both latitude and elevation. However, there are times when these two usually separate features become vertically superposed to form a single, intense jet core designated as a jet superposition or superposed jet. An objective method for identifying tropopause-level jets is employed in the construction of 50-yr cold season (November–March) synoptic climatologies of the Northern Hemisphere polar jet, subtropical jet, and jet superpositions. The analysis demonstrates that while superposition events are relatively rare, there are clear geographical maxima. Superpositions are most frequent in the western Pacific from December through February, with a secondary peak in southern North America and along its eastern seaboard. Consistent with expectations, the spatiotemporal maxima in jet superpositions appear to be coincident with maxima in the polar and subtropical jets.

3. Global weather systems

Air may seem hot and humid, hot and dry, damp and cold, or freezing cold. Vigorous weather systems may create abrupt changes when one air mass replaces another with distinct properties. ‘Global weather systems’ explains that air masses can be classified into categories based on the humidity and temperature of their source region: arctic or antarctic continental, polar continental, tropical continental, arctic maritime, polar maritime, tropical maritime, and equatorial maritime. The boundary between two air masses with differing temperatures and humidities is known as a front and there are three forms: cold, warm, and occluded. Jet streams, including Polar jets, Subtropical jets, and the Equatorial Jet Stream, are also discussed.

Phase-speed Spectra of Eddy Tracer Fluxes Linked to Isentropic Stirring and Mixing in the Upper Troposphere and Lower Stratosphere

The regions around the subtropical jets in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) are characterized by strong isentropic stirring and mixing. In this work, the wave spectrum of the associated eddy tracer fluxes is examined using an artificial passive tracer advected on isentropes by the two-dimensional flow. The eddy diffusivity computed from the flux–gradient relation captures the main features of the mixing structure. Eddy transport in the UTLS is strongest in the summer hemisphere, and weak eddy fluxes are found at the core and poleward of the subtropical jets, especially in the winter hemisphere. There is an important contribution of stationary planetary equatorial Rossby waves in the tropical upper troposphere. The transient eddy tracer transport is primarily linked to medium-scale waves (wavenumbers ~4–7) breaking in the regions of weak westerlies around the subtropical jets and to planetary-scale waves at high latitudes. Phase-speed spectra for transient eddy fluxes show a close relationship of waves to the background zonal wind. In the deep tropics, traveling equatorial and Rossby waves of extratropical origin lead to cross-equatorial tracer transport throughout the upper troposphere. Interannual changes show that eddy tracer fluxes closely follow the shifts in the zonal winds associated with El Niño–Southern Oscillation and the quasi-biennial oscillation.

On the Role of Inertial Instability in Stratosphere–Troposphere Exchange near Midlatitude Cyclones*

In simulations of midlatitude cyclones with the University of Wisconsin Nonhydrostatic Modeling System (UWNMS), mesoscale regions with large negative absolute vorticity commonly occur in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS), overlying thin layers of air with stratospheric values of ozone and potential vorticity (PV). These locally enhanced stratosphere–troposphere exchange (STE) events are related to upstream convection by tracing negative equivalent potential vorticity (EPV) anomalies along back trajectories. Detailed agreement between the patterns of negative absolute vorticity, PV, and EPV—each indicators of inertial instability in the UTLS—is shown to occur in association with enhanced STE signatures. Results are presented for two midlatitude cyclones in the upper Midwest, where convection develops between the subpolar and subtropical jets. Mesoscale regions of negative EPV air originate upstream in the boundary layer. As they are transported through convection, EPV becomes increasingly negative toward the tropopause. In association with the arrival of each large negative EPV anomaly, a locally enhanced poleward surge of the subpolar jet occurs, characterized by high turbulent kinetic energy and low Richardson number. Isosurfaces of wind speed show that gravity waves emanating from inertially unstable regions connect with and modulate the subpolar and subtropical jets simultaneously. Inertially unstable convective outflow surges can facilitate STE locally by fostering poleward acceleration in the UTLS, with enhanced folding of tropospheric air over stratospheric air underneath the poleward-moving jet.

Poleward Shift of Subtropical Jets Inferred from Satellite-Observed Lower-Stratospheric Temperatures

One pronounced feature in observed latitudinal dependence of lower-stratospheric temperature trends is the enhanced cooling near 30° latitude in both hemispheres. The observed phenomenon has not, to date, been explained in the literature. This study shows that the enhanced cooling is a direct response of the lower-stratospheric temperature to the poleward shift of subtropical jets. Furthermore, this enhanced lower-stratospheric cooling can be used to quantify the poleward shift of subtropical jets. Using the lower-stratospheric temperatures observed by satellite-borne microwave sounding units, it is shown that the subtropical jets have shifted poleward by 0.6° ± 0.1° and 1.0° ± 0.3° latitude in the Southern and Northern Hemispheres, respectively, in last 30 years since 1979, indicating a widening of tropical belt by 1.6° ± 0.4° latitude.

Dynamically Forced Increase of Tropical Upwelling in the Lower Stratosphere

Drivers of upwelling in the tropical lower stratosphere are investigated using the E39C-A chemistry–climate model. The climatological annual cycle in upwelling and its wave forcing are compared to the interim ECMWF Re-Analysis (ERA-Interim). The strength in tropical upwelling and its annual cycle can be largely explained by local resolved wave forcing. The climatological mean forcing is due to both stationary planetary-scale waves that originate in the tropics and extratropical transient synoptic-scale waves that are refracted equatorward. Increases in atmospheric greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations to 2050 force a year-round positive trend in tropical upwelling, which maximizes in the lowermost stratosphere. Tropical ascent is balanced by downwelling between 20° and 40°. Strengthening of tropical upwelling can be explained by stronger local forcing by resolved wave flux convergence, which is driven in turn by processes initiated by increases in tropical sea surface temperatures (SSTs). Higher tropical SSTs cause a strengthening of the subtropical jets and modification of deep convection affecting latent heat release. While the former can modify wave propagation and dissipation, the latter affects tropical wave generation. The dominant mechanism leading to enhanced vertical wave propagation into the lower stratosphere is an upward shift of the easterly shear zone due to the strengthening and upward shift of the subtropical jets.