A STUDY OF ATMOSPHERIC HEAT-SOURCES IN THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE FOR MONTHLY PERIODS

Abstract

By a study of heat sources and sinks, an attempt is made to further the knowledge of energy changes associated with the general circulation. The average monthly heating and cooling of the air between sea level and 10,000 ft is computed for individual and normal months. The heating and cooling regions show sizeable departures from normal and considerable monthly variations, both in magnitude and location. The absolute magnitudes of heating and cooling are greater in the colder seasons and at middle and high latitudes. At low latitudes, where the magnitudes are small, adiabatic motions are predominant. Attempts are made to determine the contributions of the various heat-exchange processes to the net heating. Certain relationships between the heating fields and the lO,OOO-ft monthly mean jet-stream are presented. The jet axis is usually found in the region of maximum transition of the heating field, with heating to the north and cooling to the south. Heat energy and kinetic energy appear to reach their longitudinal maxima at the same location along the jet.