Polar vortex: Difference between revisions
From Glossary of Meteorology
imported>Perlwikibot No edit summary |
imported>Perlwikibot No edit summary |
||
Line 9: | Line 9: | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
<div class="definition"><div class="short_definition">(''Also called'' polar cyclone, [[polar low]], circumpolar whirl.) The planetary-scale [[cyclonic circulation]], centered generally in the polar regions, extending from the middle [[troposphere]] to the [[stratosphere]].</div><br/> <div class="paragraph">The westerly airflow is largely a manifestation of the [[thermal wind]] above the [[polar frontal zone]] of middle and subpolar latitudes. The [[vortex]] is strongest in winter when the pole-to-equator [[temperature]] gradient is strongest. In the Northern Hemisphere, the vortex has two centers in the mean, one near Baffin Island and the other over northeast Siberia.</div><br/> </div> | <div class="definition"><div class="short_definition">(''Also called'' polar cyclone, [[polar low]], circumpolar whirl.) The planetary-scale [[cyclonic circulation|cyclonic circulation]], centered generally in the polar regions, extending from the middle [[troposphere]] to the [[stratosphere]].</div><br/> <div class="paragraph">The westerly airflow is largely a manifestation of the [[thermal wind]] above the [[polar frontal zone|polar frontal zone]] of middle and subpolar latitudes. The [[vortex]] is strongest in winter when the pole-to-equator [[temperature]] gradient is strongest. In the Northern Hemisphere, the vortex has two centers in the mean, one near Baffin Island and the other over northeast Siberia.</div><br/> </div> | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
Revision as of 17:38, 25 April 2012
polar vortex
(Also called polar cyclone, polar low, circumpolar whirl.) The planetary-scale cyclonic circulation, centered generally in the polar regions, extending from the middle troposphere to the stratosphere.
The westerly airflow is largely a manifestation of the thermal wind above the polar frontal zone of middle and subpolar latitudes. The vortex is strongest in winter when the pole-to-equator temperature gradient is strongest. In the Northern Hemisphere, the vortex has two centers in the mean, one near Baffin Island and the other over northeast Siberia.