Abstract
Abstract The sources of high-frequency (⩽14 day) fluctuations in global atmospheric angular momentum (AAM) are investigated using several years of surface torque and AAM data. The midlatitude mountain torque associated with the Rockies, Himalayas, and Andes is found to be responsible for much of the high-frequency fluctuations in AAM, whereas the mountain torque in the Tropics and polar regions as well as the friction torque play a much lesser role on these timescales. A maximum in the high-frequency mountain torque variance occurs during the cool season of each hemisphere, though the Northern Hemisphere maximum substantially exceeds that of the Southern. This relationship indicates the seasonal role played by each hemisphere in the high-frequency fluctuations of global AAM. A case study reveals that surface pressure changes near the Rockies and Himalayas produced by mobile synoptic-scale systems as they traversed these mountains contributed to a large fluctuation in mountain torque and a notable high-fre...
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