Chandler Period Atmospheric Oscillations at the 700 HectoPascal Level Over the Northern Hemisphere.
Abstract
The response of the atmosphere to the Chandler wobble of the earth's axis of rotation is studied in a 26-year record of 700 hectoPascal (hPa) mean monthly heights at 469 Northern Hemisphere grid points. The author verifies the applicability of a four frequency spectrum of oscillation to the 700 hPa level and extracts phase and amplitude information for these frequencies plus harmonics from the data set. The height anomaly contribution of the frequencies is calculated and compared to observed values. The portion of the variance of the 700 hPa height field explained by the frequencies is shown to be statistically significant to a very high degree of confidence in several regions. The author concludes that an atmospheric tide develops in response to the Chandler wobble and is a significant part of the 700 hPa height field topography. In addition, the relationship between the distribution of explained variance and the zones of maximum height field gradient is used to demonstrate the non-equilibrium nature of the tide. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 20, 1978
- Accession Number
- ADA107963
Entities
People
- Eugene Joseph Benuzzi
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology