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Scale invariance in jet streams: ER‐2 data around the lower‐stratospheric polar night vortex
Author(s) -
Tuck A. F.,
Hovde S. J.,
Bui T. P.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
quarterly journal of the royal meteorological society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.744
H-Index - 143
eISSN - 1477-870X
pISSN - 0035-9009
DOI - 10.1256/qj.03.191
Subject(s) - jet stream , polar night , stratosphere , polar vortex , atmospheric sciences , environmental science , scaling , polar , vortex , wind shear , northern hemisphere , jet (fluid) , meteorology , climatology , wind speed , physics , geology , mechanics , mathematics , geometry , astronomy
High altitude ER‐2 aircraft observations in both hemispheres of the lower‐stratospheric polar night jet stream reveal generalized scale invariance. The scaling exponent has systematic correlation with wind shear and temperature gradient showing across‐jet persistence, along‐jet anti‐persistence, and an overall average value ≈5/9. The analysis provides a natural connection between generalized scale invariance and traditional large‐scale dynamical meteorology. For one mission in the southern hemisphere composite variograms could be constructed for nitrous oxide and ozone, from which it was deduced that the former is a true passive scalar in the lower stratosphere, while sources and sinks are operative for the latter. Copyright © 2004 Royal Meteorological Society