Fisika Atmosfer (Atmospheric Physics)

Atmospheric dynamics: Pressure gradients and wind

fields, thermal wind

Dr.Techn. Marzuki dan Mutya Vonnisa, M.Sc

Departemen Fisika-FMIPA Universitas Andalas

 Last week
• The atmosphere is a fluid medium
• Motion of air is governed by
– Pressure gradients
– Gravitiation
– Viscous friction
– Coriolis force
• Atmospheric motion is described by the Navier-Stokes
equation
• Navier-Stokes equation is non-linear
-> Tubulence, chaotic motion
• Turbulence starts when Reynolds-Number exceeds a
critical number
• Idealised motion patterns can be inferred from the
Navier-Stokes equation by neglecting individual terms
Ruang lingkup perkuliahan
1. Outline, literature, rule and introduction
2. Vertical structure of the atmosphere
3. Adiabatic processes - Vertical stability
4. Atmospheric radiation: Absorption, scattering, emission
5. Atmospheric radiation: The energy budget of the atmosphere
6. Atmospheric dynamics: Navier-Stokes equation, continuity equation
7. Atmospheric dynamics: Pressure gradients and wind fields, thermal wind
8. Atmospheric dynamics: Vorticity
9. Atmospheric dynamics: The planetary boundary layer
10. Atmospheric circulation: Global circulation patterns, planetary waves
11. Atmospheric circulation: Pressure systems, Hadley cell
12. Diffusion and turbulence: Molecular diffusion, basics of turbulence
13. Diffusion and turbulence: Theorem of Taylor, correlated fluctuations
14. Diffusion and turbulence: Diffusion of scalar tracers
15. Near-surface dynamics: Wind profile, influence of surface friction
16. The Hydrological Cycle
17. Climate Change
18. Strat. Chemistry: Chapman Cycle
19. Strat. Chemistry: Ozone in the atmosphere
20. Aeorosol Physics I: Aeorosol Mechanics
21. Aeorosol Physics II: Particle Formation, Particle Growth
22. Measurement Techniques
23. Modeling the Atmosphere
24. Science trip (Equatorial Atmosphere Radar site-Bukittinggi)
 Outline for Today

1. The continuity equation

2. Thermal wind
a. Direct thermal circulation
b. Geostrophic wind
 The continuity equation
• The Navier-Stokes equation describes the
temporal and spatial evolution of the
velocity field
• For a complete description of the
dynamics, a continuity equation is required
which ensures the conservation of mass
 The continuity equation
• Mass flux: j =ρ v
∫
• Mass balance of a fluid volume V with mass M = ρ dV :

• Exchanging time derivative and integral on the left side and applying
the Gaussian theorem to the right side yields:

• or:

• This must be valid for any volume, i.e.

 The continuity equation
• Horizontal pressure and density gradients are usually very small (but
not in the vertical, see hydrostatic equation).
• In case of an incompressible fluid, we have
∂ρ
=0
∂t
and thus, from the continuity equation:

• -> The velocity field is divergence-free

• A horizontal divergence or convergence is usually coincident with
vertical air movement, e.g.:
 Thermal wind
• Large-scale (e.g., from the Equator to the poles) and
small scale (e.g, between land and water surfaces)
temperature gradients have an impact on the
atmospheric velocity field
30
20
Temperature [°C]

10
0
-10
-20
-30
-90 -60 -30 0 30 60 90
Latitude
• Which flow patterns occur due to temperature gradients?
 Thermal wind
• Assume two areas with different surface temperature, separated by a frontal
zone
• Isotherms and isobars are parallel over cold and warm areas. This situation is
called barotropic.
• Pressure over cold area decreases faster with height due to hydrostatic
equation: dp = -p (Mg/RT) dz
• Thus isobars are slanted
Barotropic Baroclinic Barotropic
in frontal zone
• This leads to a horizontal Low pressure High pressure

component of the pressure

gradient and thus a horizontal
acceleration
• Isotherms are slanted Isotherms
even stronger
• -> Isobars and isotherms
Isobars
are not parallel in frontal
zone. This situation is called Surface
baroclininc. Cold Frontal zone Warm

• Baroclinic stratification leads Pressure Horizontal

gradient acceleration
to acceleration of air
 Thermal wind
Direct thermal circulation
• Temperature differences on a small scale (e.g., sea/land surface)
• Coriolis force can be neglected
• Air flow at high altitudes from warm to cold area due to pressure difference
• This induces:
– upward movement of air Barotropic Baroclinic Barotropic
over the warm area
– downward movement of air Low pressure High pressure

over the cold area

• Thus higher surface pressure
over the cold area than over
the warm area Isotherms

• Therefore surface wind blows

from cold to warm area Isobars
• This circulation pattern is High pressure Low pressure
Surface
called direct thermal circulation Cold Frontal zone Warm
Pressure Horizontal
gradient acceleration
  Cold air is more dense, therefore
thinner
 Warm air is less dense, therefore
thicker
 Temperature is the only factor that
changes the thickness of a layer
 When you have a temperature
contrast, you create height
variations for a layer
 Height variation create a pressure
gradient
 Pressure gradient creates a PGF
 The change in the Geostrophic
Wind is directly proportional to
the horizontal temperature
gradient
This is the Thermal (temperature)
Wind relationship

PGF (Pressure gradient force) increases the magnitude of the wind will increase and so will
the Coriolis force. In this figure, the size of the green circles represent the magnitude of the
geostrophic wind and the x in the circle represents the tail end of the directional arrow, so
we are looking at an arrow pointing into away from us.
 Thermal wind
Direct thermal circulation
• Quantitative description of thermal wind: Consider the circulation of the
wind vector field:

• Note: the circulation Z is connected to the

rotation of a vector field via

• Acceleration by pressure gradients:

1 3

• Separation of the path integral into the T2 p2

T1 > T2 p1 >p2
sections shown in the figure: 4

T1 p1
 Thermal wind
Direct thermal circulation
• The second and forth integrals are zero since dp = 0 on isobars. With
the ideal gas law, ρ = (Mp)/(RT), this yields:

1 3

• Integration yields: T2 p1 >p2

p2
T1 > T2
4

T1 p1

• -> Baroclinic stratification leads to a circulation of the wind vector field

• In the example shown in the figure, a counterclockwise rotation of the
velocity field occurs
 Thermal wind
Geostrophic wind
• Temperature differences on a large scale
(e.g., latitudinal temperature gradients)
• Coriolis force cannot be neglected
• This leads to a geostrophic air flow
• Increase in pressure difference with altitude leads to an increase in wind
speed
z
vx(z)

Fp
v
x
Fc
y
Thermal wind
Geostrophic wind
 Thermal wind
• Differentiating the first and second equation with respect to y and z,
respectively, yields:

• Simplification: replace temperature T with vertically averaged

temperature T :

• -> Linear increase in wind velocity with altitude

• No statement about the boundary conditions for the velocity
(i.e., vx(z = 0))
• Typical poleward temperature gradient of 1 K per 100 km, f = 10-4 s-1 in
mid- latitudes leads to an increase in wind speed with altitude of
1 to 3 m s.-1 per 1000 m altitude
 Summary
• The conservation of mass implies the continuity
equation:

• Thermal wind occurs due to horizontal temperature

gradients
– Direct thermal wind is a small scale process (Coriolis force can
be neglected) and leads to a circulation, with wind blowing from
cold to warm surfaces
– Geostropic thermal wind occurs on large scales (e.g., latitudinal
temperature gradient) and causes a geostrophic wind pattern.
The wind speed increases linearly with altitude.
Example (Fig 1)
In Fig 1 the low-level (1000-700 hPa) air on the
left is warmer than that on the right,
corresponding respectively to equatorial and
polar latitudes, for instance. Warming implies
vertical expansion , as shown on the left. The
result is that the air above is lifted, and the level
rises at which the pressure is 700 hPa. In other
words, the isobaric surface becomes tilted, as on
the top of the illustrated segment of the
atmosphere. It can be seen that the slope is
greater for the isobaric surface at 700 hPa than
for the one at 900 hPa, i.e. the slope increases
with height, as long as the temperature gradient
exists
Example (fig 2) Mean meridional temperature profile at 120oE in
January, for longterm data (1968-'96). The colour bar
below indicates the temperature (oC) .
 Mean meridional profile of zonal wind at 120o E in January,
Example (Fig 3)
for longterm data (1968-'96). The colour bar below indicates
the wind speed (m/s). Negative values are easterly winds,
positive values westerly
 Example:
A careful comparison between the temperature cross section and the zonal (east-west)
wind cross section (Fig 3) shows that a strong poleward cooling implies a large positive
wind shear, i.e. a rapid increase of westerly winds with height. For instance, there is a
strong westerly jet at 200 hPa (an altitude of about 12 km) at 30o N. This jet is found above
a region with tightly packed, steeply sloping isotherms (Fig 2). This same jet weakens in the
stratosphere, because the meridional temperature gradient there has reversed: at 100 hPa
it is -75o C near the equator and -55o C at 45o N. Strong winds continue at higher latitude
(50o N) in the stratosphere at 50 hPa (19 to 20 km), the top of Fig 3, because the
wintertime polar stratosphere is very cold (Fig 2). This is the polar night jet, which obviously
is absent in the southern hemisphere, where it is summer at this time.
The southern hemisphere jet is weaker at this time and longitude because the meridional
temperature gradient is smaller. Both jets are westerly because the Coriolis force acts in
opposite directions in the two hemispheres. Thermal wind balance does not apply near the
equator because the Coriolis force there is too weak. The easterly winds in the equatorial
upper troposphere (Fig 3) are not the result of a meridional temperature gradient.

the thermal wind balance, explains why the strongest westerlies occur at the top of the
troposphere