Spatio-temporal averaging of jets obscures the reinforcement of baroclinicity by latent heating
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Latent heating modifies the jet stream by modifying the vertical geostrophic wind shear, thereby altering the potential for baroclinic development. Hence, correctly representing diabatic effects is important for modelling the mid-latitude atmospheric circulation and variability. However, the direct effects of diabatic heating remain poorly understood. For example, there is no consensus on the effect of latent heating on the cross-jet temperature contrast. We show that this disagreement is attributable to the choice of spatio-temporal averaging. Jet representations relying on averaged wind tend to have the strongest latent heating on the cold flank of the jet, thus weakening the cross-jet temperature contrast. In contrast, jet representations reflecting the two-dimensional instantaneous wind field have the strongest latent heating on the warm flank of the jet. Furthermore, we show that latent heating primarily occurs on the warm flank of poleward directed instantaneous jets, which is the case for all storm tracks and seasons.
Date Issued
2024-10-14
Date Acceptance
2024-08-28
Citation
Weather and Climate Dynamics, 2024, 5 (4), pp.1269-1286
ISSN
2698-4016
Publisher
Copernicus Publications
Start Page
1269
End Page
1286
Journal / Book Title
Weather and Climate Dynamics
Volume
5
Issue
4
Copyright Statement
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
License URL
Identifier
10.5194/wcd-5-1269-2024
Subjects
EDDY LIFE-CYCLES
FEEDBACK
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Physical Sciences
Science & Technology
VARIABILITY
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2024-10-14