EGU24-7960, updated on 08 Mar 2024
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-7960
EGU General Assembly 2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Zonal Wave Three: Trends and links to extreme events

James Arthur Renwick
James Arthur Renwick
  • Victoria University of Wellington, Victoria University of Wellington, School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences, Wellington, New Zealand (james.renwick@vuw.ac.nz)

In the Southern Hemisphere atmospheric circulation, one of the most prominent wave patterns is zonal wave three (ZW3), which exhibits three positive and three negative anomalies in the zonal eddy field around the Southern Hemisphere, with maximum amplitude over the Southern Oceans. Using ERA5 data, this presentation will describe the form of ZW3 and trends in its behaviour. Over the past 60 years, the amplitude of ZW3 exhibits significant upward trends throughout the year but most prominently in summer (Dec-Feb). Such trends are related to increasing meridional temperature gradients and to trends in eddy activity in general and to trends in poleward energy fluxes. Implications for surface climate temperature and precipitation extremes will be outlined.

How to cite: Renwick, J. A.: Zonal Wave Three: Trends and links to extreme events, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-7960, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-7960, 2024.