Abstract Intraseasonal waves in the tropical Atlantic Ocean have been found to carry prominent energy that affects interannual variability of zonal currents. This study investigates transfer and interaction wind-driven intraseasonal using single-layer model experiments. Three sets wind stress forcing at periods around 30 days, 50 days 80 with a realistic horizontal distribution are employed sep...

A meteor radar in the UK (near 52 N) has been used to measure the mean winds of the mesosphere/lowerthermosphere (MLT) region over the period 1988–2000. The seasonal course and interannual variability is characterised and comparisons are made with a number of models. Annual mean wind trends were found to be +0.37 ms−1 yr−1 for the zonal component and +0.157 ms−1 yr−1 for the meridional componen...

Several extensions of energy balance models (EBMs) are explored in which (i) sea ice acts to insulate the atmosphere from the ocean and (ii) ocean heat transport is allowed to have some meridional structure controlled by the wind, with minima at which the ice edge can rest. These new models support multiple stable ice edges not found in the classical EBM and a hysteresis loop capable of generat...

Large-scale solar dynamo models were first built by Parker (1955). Over the past half a century these models have evolved significantly. We discuss here the development of a class of large-scale dynamo models which include, along with the α-effect and Ω-effect, an important third process, flux transport by meridional circulation. We present the properties of this ‘flux-transport’ dynamo, includ...

In the outer envelope of the Sun and in other stars, differential rotation and meridional circulation are maintained via the redistribution of momentum and energy by convective motions. In order to properly capture such processes in a numerical model, the correct spherical geometry is essential. In this paper I review recent insights into the maintenance of mean flows in the solar interior obta...

Meridional flows with velocities of a few meters per second are observed in the uppermost regions of the solar convection zone. The amplitude and pattern of the flows deeper in the solar interior, in particular near the top of the radiative region, are of crucial importance to a wide range of solar magnetohydrodynamical processes. In this paper, we provide a systematic study of the penetration ...

[1] Recent paleoproxy records suggest that the mean latitude of the Atlantic Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) varied synchronously with North Atlantic climate over a range of timescales throughout the Holocene and Last Glacial Maximum. We show that the present-day ‘‘meridional mode’’ of atmosphere-ocean variability in the tropical Atlantic is a potentially useful model for understanding th...

Despite numerous investigations, the dynamical origins of the Medieval Climate Anomaly and the Little Ice Age remain uncertain. A major unresolved issue relating to internal climate dynamics is the mode and tempo of Atlantic meridional overturning circulation variability, and the significance of decadal-to-centennial scale changes in Atlantic meridional overturning circulation strength in regul...

Mechanisms for the spatio-temporal development of the Tropical Pacific Meridional Mode (TPMM) are investigated using a coupled ocean-atmosphere model and observations. In both observation and the model, this meridional mode displays decadal variations and is most pronounced in spring and early summer. The model simulation suggests that once sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the subtrop...

An exact solution to the barotropic potential vorticity equation is used to examine the properties of barotropic vortices under arbitrary nth-order hyper-diffusivity. Analytical expressions are derived for an eddy’s lifetime, meridional drift, decay in size, and energy, as functions of the Coriolis parameter, order and magnitude of diffusivity, and the eddy’s size, shape and strength. These exp...