The general circulation of the atmosphere and its effects on the movement of trace substances

Abstract

In this paper, brief summary is made of present knowledge of horizontal and vertical motions in the atmosphere with particular reference to large-scale motions which may be expected to redistribute trace substances over long time periods. Mean motions, standing eddy motions, and transient eddy motions are defined and discussed separately, variance data being used as a measure of the transport properties of the eddies. Hemispheric data concerning both horizontal and vertical components are available up to about 25 km, and there are limited samples of horizontal component data up to 60 km. Indications are that eddy motions, rather than mean motions, are the main transport process up to 25 km. Variance data show maximums in both horizontal and vertical components in the vicinity of the tropospheric jet stream and in the vicinity of the polar night stratospheric jet. In the troposphere the smallest values of both horizontal and vertical variances occur in the low latitudes of the tropics. The data are applied to a discussion of the distribution of long-lived fission products in the atmosphere. A possible explanation for the inclination of the concentration isolines of the trace substances to the isentropic surfaces is presented. Finally, the general approach ismore » applied to the particular case of the budget of ozone in the stratosphere.« less