Abstract. Global reanalyses from data assimilation systems are among the most widely used datasets in weather and climate studies, potential vorticity (PV) is invaluable for many studies of dynamical transport processes. We assess how consistently modern represent each other, focusing not only on PV but also process-oriented diagnostics including equivalent latitude calculated PV-based tropopau...

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Many aspects of geophysical flows can be described compactly in terms of potential vorticity dynamics. Since potential temperature can fluctuate at boundaries, however, the boundary conditions for potential vorticity dynamics are inhomogeneous, which complicates considerations of potential vorticity dynamics when boundary effects are dynamically significant. A formulation of potential vorticity...

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Citation: Luhunga PM and Djolov G (2017) Evaluation of the Use of Moist Potential Vorticity and Moist Potential Vorticity Vector in Describing Annual Cycles of Rainfall over Different Regions in Tanzania. Front. Earth Sci. 5:7. doi: 10.3389/feart.2017.00007 Evaluation of the Use of Moist Potential Vorticity and Moist Potential Vorticity Vector in Describing Annual Cycles of Rainfall over Differ...

We derive a wave-averaged potential vorticity equation describing the evolution of strongly stratified, rapidly rotating quasi-geostrophic (QG) flow in a field of inertia-gravity internal waves. The derivation relies on a multiple-time-scale asymptotic expansion of the Eulerian Boussinesq equations. Our result confirms and extends the theory of Bühler & McIntyre (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 354, 1998,...

The dynamical equations of atmospheric flow are written using potential vorticity as the meridional coordinate and potential temperature as the vertical coordinate. Within this system, the atmosphere is divided into undulating tubes bounded by isentropic and constant potential vorticity surfaces, and, under adiabatic and frictionless conditions, the air moves through the tubes without penetrati...