Seasonal variation of equatorial wave momentum fluxes at Gadanki (13.5° N, 79.2° E)

Abstract

The vertical flux of the horizontal momentum associated with the equatorial Kelvin and Rossby-gravity waves are estimated from the winds measured by the Indian MST radar located at Gadanki (13.5° N, 79.2° E) during September 1995 to August 1996 in the tropospheric and lower stratospheric regions for all four seasons. The present study shows that momentum flux values are greater during equinox seasons than solstices, with values near the tropopause level being 16 × 10-3, 7.4 × 10-3, 27 × 10-3 and 5.5 × 10-3m2s-2 for Kelvin waves and 5.5 × 10-3, 3.5 × 10-3, 6.7 × 10-3 and 2.1 × 10-3m2s-2 for RG waves during autumnal equinox, winter, vernal equinox and summer seasons, respectively. Using these momentum flux values near the tropopause level, acceleration of the mean flow in the stratosphere up to a 29 km height were computed following Plumb (1984), by considering the wave-meanflow interaction and the deposition of the momentum through the radiative dissipation of the waves. A comparison of the estimated mean-flow acceleration in the stratosphere compares well, except at a few height levels, with the observed mean-flow accelerations in the stratosphere derived from the radiosonde data from a nearby station.