Dynamics of High-Altitude Jet Streams from Satellite Measurements and Their Relationship with Climatic Parameters and Large-Scale Atmospheric Phenomena

Abstract

This article presents the results of an investigation into the spatiotemporal variability of the main characteristics of jet streams (JSs) in the upper troposphere of the Northern and Southern hemispheres in the field of view of European geostationary meteorological satellites for the period of 2007–2017. Most attention is paid to their relationship with tropospheric temperature, the sea-ice area, and large-scale atmospheric phenomena. The general patterns and significant differences in the interannual variability of the main characteristics of JSs in the Northern and Southern hemispheres are established. Correlation and cross-wavelet analyses are used to show that the temperature of the upper troposphere (T) at 200–500 hPa and the JS area (S) in both hemispheres vary interannually in antiphase, while T and latitudes of its center (φ) vary interannually in phase. Annual variations in the sea-ice area (Sice) and S occur in both hemispheres mostly in phase, while the variations in Sice and φ in both hemispheres are close to antiphase. The feature of annual variations of the Sice and S series in the Northern Hemisphere was found. Namely, S variations are 1.5–2.5 months ahead of Sice variations. A complex, time-varying nature of the relationship between JS characteristics and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) of the zonal averaged wind over the equator was revealed.