Eddy-zonal flow feedback in the Northern Hemisphere winter

Abstract

The variability of the zonal-mean zonal wind in the Northern Hemisphere winter (December-March) is studied using EOF analysis and momentum budget diagnostics of NCEP-NCAR reanalysis data (1976-2001). The leading EOF of the zonal-mean zonal wind is well separated from the remaining EOFs and represents the north-south movement of the midlatitude westerlies. Analysis of the momentum budget shows that a positive feedback between the zonal-mean wind anomalies and the eddy momentum fluxes selects the leading EOF of midlatitude variability. Like the Southern Hemisphere, the baroclinic eddies reinforce the zonal wind anomalies while external Rossby waves damp the wind anomalies. In the Northern Hemisphere, the quasi-stationary eddies also reinforce the zonal wind anomalies, but the baroclinic eddies are most important for the positive eddy-zonal flow feedback. The observations support the following feedback mechanisms. 1) Above-normal baroclinic wave activity is generated in the region of enhanced westerlies. This leads to wave propagation out of the westerlies that is associated with reinforcing eddy momentum fluxes. 2) The westerly jet is a waveguide for external Rossby waves that tend to propagate into the jet and remove momentum from it. 3) The quasi-stationary waves respond to a refractive index anomaly in the high latitudes below the tropopause. During the high (low) index this anomaly is negative (positive) leading to an acceleration (deceleration) of the zonal wind in the high latitudes.