Mean kinetic energies of eddy and mean currents in the atmosphere

Abstract

The mean kinetic energies of the eddy and mean currents in a series of horizontal and vertical cross sections showing the three-dimensional structure of the kinetic energies in the atmosphere were computed and analyzed. It was found that there is a region of maximum eddy kinetic energy located to the northeast and slightly below each region of maximum mean kinetic energy and that a region of secondary maximum occurs near the surface and directly below the primary maximum. Investigations of the distribution and variation of the kinetic energies in relation to the general circulation of the atmosphere show that the primary maximum of the eddy kinetic energy is the result of the convergence of the meridional transport of eddy kinetic energy and the production of kinetic energy near the jet stream core. The secondary maximum is primarily associated with the frontal activities in the lower troposphere. The horizontal distribution of the kinetic energy shows that the maximum of the eddy kinetic energy occurs in three centers and in the cyclonic instead of the anticyclonic side of the polar jet stream.