Open AccessSouthern hemisphere low level wind circulation statisticsfrom the Seasat scatterometer
Author(s) -
Gad Levy
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
annales geophysicae
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.522
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1432-0576
pISSN - 0992-7689
DOI - 10.1007/s00585-994-0065-9
Subject(s) - empirical orthogonal functions , scatterometer , climatology , southern hemisphere , meridional flow , zonal and meridional , environmental science , dominance (genetics) , antarctic oscillation , northern hemisphere , middle latitudes , latitude , atmospheric sciences , wind speed , geology , meteorology , geography , geodesy , biochemistry , chemistry , gene
Analyses of remotely sensed low-level wind\udvector data over the Southern Ocean are performed. Five-day averages and monthly\udmeans are created and the month-to-month variability during the winter\ud(July-September) of 1978 is investigated. The remotely sensed winds are compared\udto the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (ABM) and the National Meteorological\udCenter (NMC) surface analyses. In southern latitudes the remotely sensed winds\udare stronger than what the weather services' analyses suggest, indicating\udunderestimation by ABM and NMC in these regions. The evolution of the low-level\udjet and the major stormtracks during the season are studied and different flow\udregimes are identified. The large-scale variability of the meridional flow is\udstudied with the aid of empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis. The\uddominance of quasi-stationary wave numbers 3, 4, and 5 in the winter flow is\udevident in both the EOF analysis and the mean flow. The signature of an\udexceptionally strong blocking situation is evident in July and the special\udconditions leading to it are discussed. A very large intraseasonal variability\udwith different flow regimes at different months is documented