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Ann. Geophys., 19, 921-924, 2001
www.ann-geophys.net/19/921/2001/
© European Geosciences Union 2001
Asymmetry of atmospheric microstructure over synoptic scales
R. M. Worthington
Co-operative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0216, USA
Present address: RASC, University of Kyoto, Uji, Kyoto 611-0011, Japan
Abstract. Distortions are often
seen in the angular distribution of echo-power from VHF wind-profiling radars,
suggesting that thin stable layers, within the air flow, are distorted and
tilted from horizontal. In vertical shear of the horizontal wind, the
distribution of the layer tilt angles becomes skewed. A case study using six
days of VHF radar data and synoptic charts above western Europe indicates that
this asymmetry of atmospheric microstructure can exist throughout the
troposphere and lower stratosphere, above and below the jet wind maximum, over
horizontal scales of thousands of kilometres.
Key words. Meteorology and
atmospheric dynamics (middle atmosphere dynamics; synoptic-scale meteorology;
turbulence).
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