The effects of transience on the propagation of stratospheric planetary waves

Abstract

The propagation of planetary-scale Rossby waves in the stratosphere is investigated in a linear, time-dependent, primitive equation model. Two distinct maxima in the convergence of the Eliassen-Palm flux (EP flux) are found for steady and for transient waves in a variety of realistic Northern hemisphere, winter season, zonal flows; one below the stratospheric polar jet and the other north of the zero wind line. These maxima appear at higher altitudes for wave one than for wave two, especially in low latitudes. -from Authors