Abstract
The Ferrel cell consists of the zonal mean vertical and meridional winds in the midlatitudes. The continuity of the Ferrel circulation and the zonal mean momentum and heat budgets imply a collocation of the eddy-driven jet and poleward eddy heat flux maxima, under certain assumptions, including the negligibility of diabatic heating. The latter assumption is questioned, since midlatitude storms are associated with latent heating in the midtroposphere. In this study, the heat budget of the Ferrel cell in both hemispheres is examined, using the JRA55 reanalysis data set. The diabatic heating rate is significant close to the center of the Ferrel cell during winter and at the ascending branch during summer in both hemispheres. The interannual variability shows a positive correlation between the diabatic heating rate in the midlatitude midtroposphere and the latitudinal separation between the eddy heat flux and the eddy-driven jet maxima during winter in both hemispheres.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | e2020GL090619 |
| Journal | Geophysical Research Letters |
| Volume | 47 |
| Issue number | 23 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 16 Dec 2020 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The authors thank two anonymous reviewers for their useful comments. This research was supported by the Israel Science Foundation (grants Nos. 1658/18 and 996/20). The authors are grateful to the Japanese Meteorological Agency for providing the JRA55 reanalysis (Kobayashi et al., 2015 ).
Funding Information:
The authors thank two anonymous reviewers for their useful comments. This research was supported by the Israel Science Foundation (grants Nos. 1658/18 and 996/20). The authors are grateful to the Japanese Meteorological Agency for providing the JRA55 reanalysis (Kobayashi et al.,?2015).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright:
Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
Keywords
- Ferrel cell
- diabatic heating
- eddy-driven jet
- heat budget
- storm tracks
- the general atmospheric circulation