A study of the kinetic energy budget of the troposphere over the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico

Abstract

The budget of kinetic energy over the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico during the winter (November–April) and Summer (May–October) half-years of 1960 is established for the finite atmospheric layers 1000/850, 850/700, 700/500, and 500/300 mb. Vertical transports, lateral outflow, and generation of kinetic energy are computed directly from twice-daily aerological soundings, while the ‘dissipation’ term is obtained as a residual. The frictional dissipation in the boundary layer is independently computed from 1960 ship observations. Kinetic energy dissipation is of the order of 1·103 ergs·cm−2 in the layer 1000/850 mb, decreasing in the higher layers. The residual ‘dissipation’ term would indicate a production of kinetic energy, particularly for the layer 500/300 mb in winter. This would appear consistent with results by other authors. Due to the uncertainties inherent in the computational procedures, however, only limited confidence can be given to the absolute values.