Norihiko Sugimoto

Baroclinic instability in the Venus atmosphere simulated by GCM

Baroclinic instability in the super-rotation of Venus is investigated by a newly developed atmospheric general circulation model. First, we adopt an idealized super-rotation, i.e., solid-body rotating flow in a weakly stratified layer at cloud level, as an initial basic state in a nominal case. With the evolution of time, baroclinic instability occurs in a weakly stratified layer with large vertical shear of the basic zonal flow. Horizontal wind associated with the baroclinic instability modes is of a few mu2009s−1. The initial structure of the unstable modes is similar to those obtained in previous linear stability analyses. However, it is modified by nonlinear interactions in the later stage, reaching a quasi-steady state. Meridional transport of momentum and heat by these unstable modes accelerates the super-rotation by ~ 0.05u2009mu2009s−1u2009day−1 at midlatitudes. Furthermore, the dependence of baroclinic instability on the basic state, i.e., the meridional profiles of zonal flow and the vertical profiles of static stability, are subsequently investigated. For the super-rotation with midlatitude jets at cloud level, the modes are modified from baroclinic to barotropic in the later stage. Typically, their horizontal wind is of O(10) m s−1. Their amplitude is maintained by energy conversion from zonal-mean available potential energy associated with the baroclinic basic state. In the case where static stability is smaller than that in the nominal case, the baroclinic modes transfer angular momentum from midlatitude to the equator near a 70u2009km level and accelerate the super-rotation by more than 10u2009mu2009s−1 in the equatorial region.

Waves in a Venus general circulation model

Waves in the Venus atmosphere are numerically investigated by extending a work of Sugimoto et al. (2014). Fast superrotating zonal flow of 120u2009mu2009s−1 at the equator is reproduced and maintained by solar heating for more than 10 Earth years. The meridional distribution of the obtained fast zonal flow is quite consistent with observations at the cloud levels. In the cloud layer, baroclinic waves develop continuously with a life cycle of ~25 Earth days at midlatitudes, using available potential energy derived from a baroclinically unstable basic state. Rossby waves observed at the cloud top are generated by the baroclinic waves and induce spatio-temporal variation of the superrotation with amplitude larger than 25u2009mu2009s−1. Further, Kelvin waves with a period of ∼u20096.2u2009days appear in the equatorial region below ~50u2009km. Momentum and heat transports produced by these waves are discussed.

A Theoretical Study on the Spontaneous Radiation of Inertia–Gravity Waves Using the Renormalization Group Method. Part I: Derivation of the Renormalization Group Equations

AbstractBy using the renormalization group (RG) method, the interaction between balanced flows and Doppler-shifted inertia–gravity waves (GWs) is formulated for the hydrostatic Boussinesq equations on the f plane. The derived time-evolution equations [RG equations (RGEs)] describe the spontaneous GW radiation from the components slaved to the vortical flow through the quasi resonance, together with the GW radiation reaction on the large-scale flow. The quasi resonance occurs when the space–time scales of GWs are partially comparable to those of slaved components. This theory treats a coexistence system with slow time scales composed of GWs significantly Doppler-shifted by the vortical flow and the balanced flow that interact with each other. The theory includes five dependent variables having slow time scales: one slow variable (linear potential vorticity), two Doppler-shifted fast ones (GW components), and two diagnostic fast ones. Each fast component consists of horizontal divergence and ageostrophic vo...

The puzzling Venusian polar atmospheric structure reproduced by a general circulation model

Unlike the polar vortices observed in the Earth, Mars and Titan atmospheres, the observed Venus polar vortex is warmer than the midlatitudes at cloud-top levels (∼65u2009km). This warm polar vortex is zonally surrounded by a cold latitude band located at ∼60° latitude, which is a unique feature called ‘cold collar in the Venus atmosphere. Although these structures have been observed in numerous previous observations, the formation mechanism is still unknown. Here we perform numerical simulations of the Venus atmospheric circulation using a general circulation model, and succeed in reproducing these puzzling features in close agreement with the observations. The cold collar and warm polar region are attributed to the residual mean meridional circulation enhanced by the thermal tide. The present results strongly suggest that the thermal tide is crucial for the structure of the Venus upper polar atmosphere at and above cloud levels.

A theoretical study on the spontaneous radiation of inertia-gravity waves using the renormalization group method. Part II: Verification of the theoretical equations by numerical simulation

AbstractThe renormalization group equations (RGEs) describing spontaneous inertia–gravity wave (GW) radiation from part of a balanced flow through a quasi resonance that were derived in a companion paper by Yasuda et al. are validated through numerical simulations of the vortex dipole using the Japan Meteorological Agency nonhydrostatic model (JMA-NHM). The RGEs are integrated for two vortical flow fields: the first is the initial condition that does not contain GWs used for the JMA-NHM simulations, and the second is the simulated thirtieth-day field by the JMA-NHM. The theoretically obtained GW distributions in both RGE integrations are consistent with the numerical simulations using the JMA-NHM. This result supports the validity of the RGE theory. GW radiation in the dipole is physically interpreted either as the mountain-wave-like mechanism proposed by McIntyre or as the velocity-variation mechanism proposed by Viudez. The shear of the large-scale flow likely determines which mechanism is dominant. In ...

Development of an ensemble Kalman filter data assimilation system for the Venusian atmosphere

The size and mass of Venus is similar to those of the Earth; however, its atmospheric dynamics are considerably different and they are poorly understood due to limited observations and computational difficulties. Here, we developed a data assimilation system based on the local ensemble transform Kalman filter (LETKF) for a Venusian Atmospheric GCM for the Earth Simulator (VAFES), to make full use of the observational data. To examine the validity of the system, two datasets were assimilated separately into the VAFES forecasts forced with solar heating that excludes the diurnal component Qz; one was created from a VAFES run forced with solar heating that includes the diurnal component Qt, whereas the other was based on observations made by the Venus Monitoring Camera (VMC) onboard the Venus Express. The VAFES-LETKF system rapidly reduced the errors between the analysis and forecasts. In addition, the VAFES-LETKF system successfully reproduced the thermal tide excited by the diurnal component of solar heating, even though the second datasets only included horizontal winds at a single altitude on the dayside with a long interval of approximately one Earth day. This advanced system could be useful in the analysis of future datasets from the Venus Climate Orbiter ‘Akatsuki’.

Generation and backreaction of spontaneously emitted inertia-gravity waves

Spontaneous generation of inertia-gravity waves from balanced flows is investigated in idealized simulations of dipoles. Long integrations are performed for dipoles with different Rossby numbers (Ro) to identify the backreaction of the waves. Emission of waves is detected only for large enough Ro (>0.15), and it then leads to a slow decay of the dipoles kinetic energy. A major finding is that this decay is well captured by the simulations, although positions of the waves appear still sensitive to the resolution, and their maximum vertical velocity increases linearly with resolution. The interpretation is that the emission process is well resolved and fairly insensitive to resolution, while the propagation and dissipation at small scales remains sensitive to resolution. The implication is that the simulations yield an estimate of the leakage of energy from balanced motions to gravity waves, providing a useful estimate of a poorly constrained flux in the oceans energy budget.

Inertia-gravity wave radiation from the merging of two co-rotating vortices in the f-plane shallow water system

Inertia-gravity waveradiation from the merging of two co-rotating vortices is investigated numerically in a rotating shallow water system in order to focus on cyclone–anticyclone asymmetry at different values of the Rossby number (Ro). A numerical study is conducted on a model using a spectral method in an unbounded domain to estimate the gravity wave flux with high accuracy. Continuous gravity waveradiation is observed in three stages of vortical flows: co-rotating of the vortices, merging of the vortices, and unsteady motion of the merged vortex. A cyclone–anticyclone asymmetry appears at all stages at smaller Ro (≤20). Gravity waves from anticyclones are always larger than those from cyclones and have a local maximum at smaller Ro (∼2) compared with that for an idealized case of a co-rotating vortex pair with a constant rotation rate. The source originating in the Coriolis acceleration has a key role in cyclone–anticyclone asymmetry in gravity waves. An additional important factor is that at later stages, the merged axisymmetric anticyclone rotates faster than the elliptical cyclone due to the effect of the Rossby deformation radius, since a rotation rate higher than the inertial cutoff frequency is required to radiate gravity waves.

A Reynolds-averaged turbulence modelling approach to the maintenance of the Venus superrotation

Abstract A maintenance mechanism of an approximately linear velocity profile of the Venus zonal flow or superrotation is explored, with the aid of a Reynolds-averaged turbulence modelling approach. The basic framework is similar to that of Gierasch (Meridional circulation and maintenance of the Venus atmospheric rotation. J. Atmos. Sci. 1975, 32, 1038–1044) in the sense that the mechanism is examined under a given meridional circulation. The profile mimicking the observations of the flow is initially assumed, and its maintenance mechanism in the presence of turbulence effects is investigated from a viewpoint of the suppression of energy cascade. In the present work, the turbulent viscosity is regarded as an indicator of the intensity of the cascade. A novelty of this formalism is the use of the isotropic turbulent viscosity based on a non-local time scale linked to a large-scale flow structure. The mechanism is first discussed qualitatively. On the basis of these discussions, the two-dimensional numerical simulation of the proposed model is performed, with an initially assumed superrotation, and the fast zonal flow is shown to be maintained, compared with the turbulent viscosity lacking the non-local time scale. The relationship of the present model with the current general circulation model simulation is discussed in light of a crucial role of the vertical viscosity.

Nonlinear Interaction Between Vortex and Wave in Rotating Shallow Water

This chapter is primarily concerned with the generation of inertia-gravity wave by vortical flows (spontaneous emission) in shallow water system on an f-plane. Sound waves are generated from vortical flows (aeroacoustics). There are many theoretical and numerical works regarding this subject. A shallow water system is equivalent to a twodimensional adiabatic gas system, if the effect of Earths rotation is negligibly small. Then gravity waves are analogous to sound waves. While it is widely known that the effect of the Earths rotation suppresses inertia-gravity wave radiation, there are few studies about spontaneous emission in rotating shallow water. Here, the generation of inertia-gravity waves by unsteady vortical flows is investigated analytically and numerically as an extension of aeroacoustics. A background of this subject is introduced briefly and several recent works including new results are reviewed. Main findings are cycloneanticyclone asymmetry in spontaneous emission and a local maximum of intensity of gravity waves emitted from anticyclones at intermediate value of the Coriolis parameter f, which are caused by the source originating in the Coriolis acceleration. All different experimental settings show the similar results, suggesting the robustness of these features.