Jacob Haqq-Misra--PhD Thesis Defense
(Penn State, Department of Meteorology)
"A Dynamical Hierarchy for the General Circulation"
What | PhD Defense Homepage GR |
---|---|
When |
Oct 11, 2010 09:00 AM
Oct 11, 2010 12:00 PM
Oct 11, 2010 from 09:00 am to 12:00 pm |
Where | 529 Walker Building |
Contact Name | Elizabeth Daye |
Contact email | exd3@psu.edu |
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ABSTRACT
We present a series of dynamical states using an idealized
three-dimensional general circulation model with gray radiation and
latent heat release. Beginning with the case of radiative-convective
equilibrium, we develop a two-dimensional state with zonally symmetric
flow followed by a three-dimensional state that includes baroclinic eddy
fluxes. In both dry and moist cases, the contribution of eddy fluxes to
the general circulation is necessary to reproduce an Earth-like Hadley
cell. Additionally, the deepening of the tropical tropospheric layer and
the shape of the extratropical tropopause can be understood through the
eddy-driven Brewer-Dobson circulation. These results suggest that the
standard theory for an axisymmetric Hadley circulation implicitly
assumes contributions from baroclinic eddy fluxes and that eddies alone
can generate a realistic tropopause structure in the absence of moist
convection. We also examine the transport of a tracer from the
equatorial stratosphere to the surface as an analogy to downward oxygen
transport on early Earth. We discuss how we might extend this tracer to
represent various atmospheric constituents and improve upon the physics
of our model in order to simulate planets with dense carbon dioxide
atmospheres.