The influence of tropical heating displacements on the extratropical climate

Journal Article · Mon Nov 01 04:00:00 EST 1993 · Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1993)050<3553:TIOTHD>2.0.CO;2· OSTI ID:5584212

Hou, A Y ^[1]

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1. NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD (United States)

The hypothesis is advanced that a latitudinal shift in the tropical convective heating pattern can significantly alter temperatures in the extratropics. Results of a simplified GCM show that the shift of a prescribed tropical heating toward the summer pole, on time scales longer than a few weeks, leads to a more intense cross-equatorial [open quotes]winter[close quotes] Hadley circulation, enhanced upper-level tropical easterlies, and a slightly stronger subtropical winter jet, accompanied by warming at the winter middle and high latitudes as a result of increased dynamical heating. The indications are that there is a robust connection between the net dynamic heating in the extratropics and the implied changes in the subtropical wind shear resulting from adjustments in the Hadley circulation associated with convective heating displacements in the tropics. The implications are that (i) the low-frequency temporal variability in the Hadley circulation may play an important role in modulating wave transport in the winter extratropics, (ii) the global climate may be sensitive to those processes that control deep cumulus convection in the tropics, and (iii) systematic temperature biases in GCMs may be reduced by improving the tropical rainfall simulation. 43 refs., 49 figs.

• OSTI ID: 5584212
• Journal Information: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences; (United States), Journal Name: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences; (United States) Vol. 50:21; ISSN 0022-4928; ISSN JAHSAK
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540110*
ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATION
CLIMATES
CONVECTION
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
ENERGY TRANSFER
GENERAL CIRCULATION MODELS
GLOBAL ASPECTS
HEAT TRANSFER
HEATING
MASS TRANSFER
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
SHEAR
TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTION
TROPICAL REGIONS
WEATHER
WIND