ON THE SPECTRAL DISTRIBUTION OF LARGE-SCALE ATMOSPHERIC KINETIC ENERGY

Abstract

Current interest in the limits of deterministic prediction in the atmosphere has focused attention on the longitudinal spectrum of kinetic energy at synoptic wavelengths. A number of additions and improvements on past determinations of kinetic energy are presented. The kinetic energy spectrum of interest is defined as the portion of the spectrum arising from stochastic transient motion on all scales. The spectra presented show the variations in spectral shape as a function of season, pressure level, latitude, data density, and method of obtaining the basic wind component data.