PROPOSED INDICES CHARACTERIZING STRATOSPHERIC CIRCULATION AND TEMPERATURE FIELDS

• Main Authors: Keith W. Johnson, Alvin J. Miller, Melvyn E. Gelman
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1969
• Subjects: North Pole
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.395.2605; http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/mwr/097/mwr-097-08-0565.pdf

Two indices are proposed that characterize and quantify the circulation and temperature fields at stratospheric constant-pressure levels. The circulation index is calculated at 60 " N. latitude as a normalized difference of the squared amplitudes of wave numbers 2 and 1 of the height field. The temperature index is the mean temperature gradient between the North Pole and 60 " N. Comparisons of values of these parameters during several stratospheric warming episodes are utilized to show the difference between small-scale and large-scale warming events. Comparisons of values at different levels lead to the possibility of studying tropospheric-stratospheric interactions during periods of stratospheric warming. 1.