The diurnal cycle and the meridional extent of the tropics

PHYSICA D-NONLINEAR PHENOMENA

卷:240

Article

Milewski, Paul A.¹  Tabak, Esteban G.² 

[1] Univ Wisconsin, Dept Math, Madison, WI 53706 USA

[2] NYU, Courant Inst Math Sci, New York, NY 10012 USA

关键词: Hadley cell;    Equatorial waves;    Breaking waves;    Tropopause;    Inertia-gravity waves;    Diurnal cycle;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.physd.2010.10.006

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

An explanation is proposed for the meridional extent of the Hadley cells: the diurnal waves forced by solar heating trapped between -30 degrees and 30 degrees. These baroclinic waves, we propose, give rise to the daily nature of tropical meteorology, and ultimately to the intensified mixing and circulation associated with the Hadley cells and the shape of the tropopause. This conceptual explanation is validated with basic scaling arguments and with two diurnally forced one-layer models: One linear and the other nonlinear, the latter with a simple closure for mixing and entrainment by breaking waves. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

【 授权许可】

Free