ATM S 545, Autumn Quarter 1997
The General Circulation of the
Atmosphere
Possible Term Paper Topics:
- planetary atmospheres (Mars, Venus, Jupiter)
- atmospheres of idealized planets (aqua-planet....)
- methodology for general circulation studies (KE cycle, EP fluxes,
coordinate systems, various methods of partitioning, spectral formulations...)
- diurnal variations, tides
- medium and extended-range forecasting
- Fourier space/time decomposition of general circulation statistics
- role of mountains in the general circulation
- role of the cryosphere in the general circulation
- role of clouds in the general circulation (deep convection, stratus
decks....)
- role of land surface processes in the general circulation
- role of moist processes in the general circulation
- general circulation during the ice ages or other paleoclimatic regimes
- balance requirements for the polar regions
- meridional heat transport in the oceans
- estimates of the global energy balance based on different analysis
approaches
- atmospheric angular momentum and length of day
- short-term variations in atmospheric angular momentum
- the kinetic energy cycle in the oceans
- potential vorticity transport
- meridional and vertical transport of stratospheric tracers (ozone,
volcanic dust, radioactivity)
- the hydrologic cycle in the context of the general circulation
- southern hemisphere general circulation
- asymmetries between the northern and southern hemisphere general
circulation
- unresolved issues concerning the annual cycle (equatorial cold tongues,
semiannual cycle in southern hemisphere sea-level pressure and tropical
stratospheric winds, sudden monsoon onset, midwinter minimum in baroclinic wave
activity in the Pacific stormtrack)
- intertropical convergence zones
- monsoons
- deserts
- stationary waves (need to consider some specific aspect)
- equatorial stratospheric quasi-biennial oscillation
- polar stratospheric sudden warmings
- tropical waves
- tropical cyclones
- extratropical cyclones
- the storm tracks
- interactions between stormtracks and the background flow
- blocking
- Madden-Julian Oscillation
- drought
- structure and evolution of low-frequency variability
- interannual climate variability
- El Nino / Southern Oscillation
- atmospheric response to tropical heat sources
- atmospheric response to tropical sea-surface temperature perturbations
- extratropical atmosphere-ocean interaction
- performance of atmospheric general circulation models
- effect of model resolution on the strength of the westerlies
- 'climate drift' in numerical weather prediction models
- coupled atmosphere-ocean GCMs
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