Excitation of mixed Rossby-gravity waves by wave-mean flow interactions on the sphere

TL;DR

This paper investigates how wave-mean flow interactions generate mixed Rossby-gravity waves on the sphere, using numerical simulations with a spectral model, revealing their role in tropical variability and dependence on zonal flow asymmetry.

Contribution

It introduces a spectral model-based analysis of wave-mean flow interactions as a novel excitation mechanism for MRGWs, explaining observed variance peaks.

Findings

Wave-mean flow interactions generate MRGWs with realistic variance spectra.

The growth of MRGWs depends on asymmetries in zonal mean flow.

Wave-mean flow interactions are more significant than external forcing or wave-wave interactions.

Abstract

The equatorial mixed Rossby-gravity wave (MRGW) is an important contributor to tropical variability. Its excitation mechanism capable of explaining the observed MRGW variance peak at synoptic scales remains elusive. This study investigates wave-mean flow interactions as a generation process for the MRGWs using the barotropic version of the global Transient Inertia-Gravity And Rossby wave dynamics model (TIGAR), which employs Hough harmonics as the basis of spectral expansion, thereby representing MRGWs as prognostic variables. High accuracy numerical simulations manifest that interactions between waves emanating from a tropical heat source and zonal mean jets in the subtropics generate MRGWs with the variance spectra resembling the one observed in the tropical troposphere. Quantification of spectral tendencies associated with the MRGW energy growth underscores the significance of wave-mean flow interactions in comparison to excitation mechanisms driven by external forcing and wave-wave interactions. The MRGW growth and amplitude depend on the asymmetry in the zonal mean flow that may explain not only seasonal variability but also differences between the troposphere and the middle atmosphere.