Layered structure associated with low potential vorticity near the tropopause seen in high-resolution radiosondes over Japan

Abstract

Horizontal wind and temperature data obtained from operational radiosondes over Japan have recently been available with high vertical resolution. Analyzing these data over 4 yr has indicated horizontal velocity layers with vertical scales of about 5 km lasting for a week or more. The layers appear frequently in winter at several stations simultaneously and are dominant in the height range of 8-16 km. An empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis for the time series of layered disturbance amplitude in winter indicates that there are two dominant principal components. The first component (EOF1) describes layered disturbances in the middle of Japan (30°- 37°N) and the second one (EOF2) describes disturbances in the south of Japan (23°-30°N). Using global analysis data, the background field of the layered disturbances was examined. An interesting result is that the background potential vorticity (PV) is approximately zero or negative for EOF2 disturbances even though located in a relatively high-latitude region. This fact suggests that the EOF2 disturbances are due to inertial instability. It is also shown that negative PV occurs more than 30% of the time in winter, in a zonally elongated region of 23°- 29°N in the western Pacific, on an isentropic surface of 345 K (∼10 km altitude). Such a high frequency of negative PV is not observed at other longitudes in this latitude band. To determine the origin of the anomalous PV, backward trajectories were analyzed. For EOF2 disturbances, air parcels having mostly negative PV are traced back to the equatorial region in the longitude band 20°W-140°E within a few days. This is due to a strong northward branch of the Hadley circulation associated with deep convection over the Maritime Continent and a strong northeastward subtropical jet stream. On the other hand, the background PV is low but scarcely negative for EOF1 disturbances. Air parcels at EOF1 stations are traced back to the far west because they are advected mostly by a strong eastward jet stream. Thus, it is inferred that the EOF1 disturbances may be due to inertia-gravity waves trapped in a duct of the westerly jet core.