What is meridional circulation of atmosphere?
An atmospheric circulation in a vertical plane oriented along a meridian. It consists, therefore, of the vertical and the meridional (north or south) components of motion only.
What physical effect causes circulation in the atmosphere of Jupiter?
While heat is transported from the equator to the poles mainly via the atmosphere on Earth, on Jupiter deep convection equilibrates heat. The convection in the Jovian interior is thought to be driven mainly by the internal heat.
Does belt and zone circulation occur on Jupiter?
And so, the four Jovian planets – Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune – all have something known as belt-zone circulation.
Why is Jupiter’s atmosphere banded?
Jupiter’s stripes or ‘bands’ are caused by differences in the chemical composition and temperature of the atmospheric gas. The light-coloured bands are called ‘zones’ and show regions where the gas is rising. The dark-coloured bands are called ‘belts’ and show where gas is sinking.
What is meant by meridional and zonal flow in the atmosphere?
Zonal flow is defined as west to east or east to west, while meridional flow indicates north-to-south or south-to-north air motion. Zonal flow is typically associated with relatively weak troughs and ridges, and thus relatively quiet weather.
What causes zonal winds on Earth?
Zonal winds are winds circulating at the same latitude, parallel to the equator, thermalizing the atmosphere longitudinally. The strong zonal winds in the northern hemisphere result from the significant thermal gradient between the north winter pole and the equatorial region.
Why is Jupiter so colorful?
The colors of Jupiter’s atmosphere are created when different chemicals reflect the Sun’s light. Most of Jupiter is hydrogen and helium, but the top of its clouds are composed of ammonia crystals, with trace amounts of water ice and droplets, and possibly ammonium hydrosulfide.
What is zonal mean?
1 : of, relating to, affecting, or having the form of a zone a zonal boundary. 2 : of, relating to, or being a soil or a major soil group marked by well-developed characteristics that are determined primarily by the action of climate and organisms (such as vegetation) — compare azonal, intrazonal.
What causes zonal flow?
The Physics of the Atmosphere Because at higher latitudes the Coriolis force deflects wind to a greater extent than in the tropics, winds become much more zonal (flow parallel to lines of latitude).
How is the meridional circulation in the stratosphere?
The stratospheric meridional circulation, often referred to as the Brewer–Dobson Circulation (BDC), was deduced by Brewer and Dobson from observations of the distributions of water vapor (H2 O) and ozone (O 3 ). Air enters the stratosphere through the tropical tropopause where it ascends slowly, moving gradually poleward and downward.
How is water vapor transported in the meridional circulation?
The left panel of Fig. 6.11 shows the vertically integrated northward transport of water vapor, including the contributions from the mean meridional circulation and from eddies. In the tropics, the mean meridional circulation dominates the total transport, with moisture transported toward the equatorial region by the trade winds.
How is the extratropical pump related to the meridional circulation?
This wave-driven circulation is also referred to as the ‘extratropical pump’ because midlatitude wave driving effectively draws air poleward and downward while the tropics respond with rising motions and adiabatic cooling. J. Lu, G.A. Vecchi, in Encyclopedia of Atmospheric Sciences (Second Edition), 2015
Why is the meridional circulation weak in the summer?
In summer, stratospheric winds in the extratropics shift from Westerly to Easterly, and the PWs are no longer able to propagate into the stratosphere. Without energy and momentum from breaking waves, the summer circulation is weak.
