Geosciences Dept. Seminar: Understanding the response of the atmospheric circulation to climate change from an energetic perspective

​Abstract: 

The atmospheric circulation determines the structure of Earth’s climate. Changes in the circulation, such as meridional shifts in the circulation patterns can lead to dramatic changes in the local climate. Increased greenhouse gas emissions is expected to change the vertical and meridional temperature profile and affect the atmospheric circulation. Climate models predict that greenhouse gas-induced climate change would cause a warming of the troposphere and cooling of the stratosphere, as well as a poleward and upward shift of the midlatitude jet stream and storm tracks - the major components of the extratropical circulation. The response of the atmospheric circulation to climate change is difficult to explain, due to nonlinear dynamical feedbacks within the system. Previous studies have attempted to explain the poleward shift of the jet stream in response to climate change based on different dynamical mechanisms. Here we propose an alternative approach of connecting the energy and momentum flux in order to explain the jet shift based on energy balance considerations.

Seminar Organizer: Prof. Eyal Haifetz