Angular momentum conservation and gravity wave drag parameterization: implications for climate models

Shaw, T. A. and Shepherd, T. G. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6631-9968 (2007) Angular momentum conservation and gravity wave drag parameterization: implications for climate models. Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 64 (1). pp. 190-203. ISSN 1520-0469 doi: 10.1175/JAS3823.1

Abstract/Summary

The robustness of the parameterized gravity wave response to an imposed radiative perturbation in the middle atmosphere is examined. When momentum is conserved and for reasonable gravity wave drag parameters, the response to a polar cooling induces polar downwelling above the region of the imposed cooling, with consequent adiabatic warming. This response is robust to changes in the gravity wave source spectrum, background flow, gravity wave breaking criterion, and model lid height. When momentum is not conserved, either in the formulation or in the implementation of the gravity wave drag parameterization, the response becomes sensitive to the above-mentioned factors—in particular to the model lid height. The spurious response resulting from nonconservation is found to be nonnegligible in terms of the total gravity wave drag–induced downwelling.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/31786
Identification Number/DOI	10.1175/JAS3823.1
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	No Reading authors. Back catalogue items Science > School of Mathematical, Physical and Computational Sciences > Department of Meteorology
Publisher	American Meteorological Society
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