Physical origin of differences among various measures of solar meridional circulation

Abstract

We show that systematic differences between surface Doppler and magnetic element tracking measures of solar meridional flow can be explained by the effects of surface turbulent magnetic diffusion. Feature-tracking speeds are lower than plasma speeds in low and mid latitudes, because magnetic diffusion opposes poleward plasma flow in low latitudes whereas it adds to plasma flow at high latitudes. Flux-transport dynamo models must input plasma flow; the model outputs yield estimates of the surface magnetic feature tracking speed. We demonstrate that the differences between plasma speed and magnetic pattern speed in a flux-transport dynamo are consistent with the observed difference between these speeds. © 2010. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.