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Errata

The Atmospheric General Circulation by Wallace et al. (2023)



  1. In several places where the text makes reference to shallow water wave equation models, it should be to barotropic models.

    • p. 21, 22: Replace the bullet starting near the end the end of p. 21 and continuing onto the next page by:

      Examples of 2-D models are these in which the barotropic vorticity equation is used to predict the evolution of the flow at a single level and those in which a system of equations developed for studying shallow water waves is used to predict the evolution of the flow in a layer of prescribed depth. 2-D models may also be used to predict the evolution of zonally averaged fields of zonal wind and temperature in response to a prescribed, time-varying forcing.

    • p. 202: In the caption of Fig. 11,14, replace nondivergent shallow water wave equation model (Eq. (11.4)) by model based on the barotropic vorticity equation (11.4)).
    • p. 202-203: Delete the text,

      using the shallow water wave equations described in Section 10.2.1. For nondivergent barotropic flow, dh/dt = 0 and thus height h in Eqs. (10.2) and (10.3) is identical to the streamfunction for the horizontal wind field (V = k × ∇h ≡ Vh) and the two momentum equations reduce

      so that it reads:

      using the barotropic vorticity equation

    • p. 204, Fig. 11.17 caption: In the first line of text, delete shallow water wave equation


  2. We wish to correct the false impression that the steady state response to an equatorial heat source resembles the “Gill response” shown in Fig. 14.4. For this purpose we will make reference to videos in the Animations Library

    • p. 262, Caption of Fig. 14.4: The interpretation of the observed pattern offered in the figure caption is not entirely correct. The theoretical solutions shown in the middle and bottom panels are based on a shallow water wave equation model assuming an unrealistically strong damping rate. In models with realistic damping, the Rossby wave response is dominant.

    • p. 263, first paragraph: Replace the text,

      The middle panel shows the “building blocks” from which the solution is made up: an eastward propagating Kelvin wave and a westward propagating n = 1 equatorial Rossby wave, as described in Section 9.4. In the solution shown in the bottom panel, the Kelvin wave is dominant to the east of the mass source and the Rossby wave is dominant to the west of it. The Rossby wave is seen to be responsible for the anticyclonic gyres at the longitude of and to the west of the deep convection over the warm pool and the Kelvin wave is responsible for the equatorial ridge of high pressure waves accompanied by westerlies to the east of it. In the steady state solution the waves are damped as they propagate away from the mass source at the same rate as they are being forced by it.4 We will show how this circulation develops in Section 15.3.

      by:

      The middle panel shows the “building blocks” that are instrumental in the development of the solution: an eastward propagating Kelvin wave and a westward propagating n = 1 equatorial Rossby wave, as described in Section 9.4. In the solution shown in the bottom panel, the Kelvin wave is dominant to the east of the mass source and the Rossby wave is dominant to the west of it. The Rossby wave is seen to be responsible for the anticyclonic gyres at the longitude of and to the west of the deep convection over the warm pool and the Kelvin wave produces an equatorial ridge of high pressure accompanied by westerlies to the east of it. The formation of these waves is shown in Animation 10.2.5-6, which was created using a primitive equation model forced by a circular heat source on the equator. In this integration the basic state flow is a state of rest, as in the steady state solutions of Matsuno (1966) and Gill (1980).

      To understand how the time dependent response evolves into the steady state solution, it is necessary to consider longer time integrations. Animation 12.1-7a shows the same integration as in 10.2.5-6, but extended out to 30 days. Owing to the strong damping, with an e-folding tine of just 2 days, the Kelvin wave is attenuated as it propagates eastward and after a week or so, the damping of the Kelvin wave response balances the eastward advection and the solution approaches a steady state that resembles the Gill solution. However, when the damping rate is reduced to a more realistic value, with an e-folding time of 2-3 weeks, the Kelvin wave propagates farther and farther eastward before it comes into equilibrium with the damping, as shown in Animations 12.1-7b,c. The extended eastward dispersion of the Kelvin wave gives rise to a zonally symmetric component of the steady state solution, with a narrow westerly jet along the equator accompanied by a ridge of high pressure. This feature is maintained by the equatorward transport of westerly momentum by the Rossby wave gyres to the west of the heat source. In Gill’s analysis the shallow water wave equation is linearized about a state of rest, so a zonally symmetric equatorial westerly jet would not develop, even if the damping were reduced.

      Prescribing a zonally symmetric basic state flow with westerlies in the initial condition of the integrations with the primitive equation model adds another element of complexity to the solution, as shown in Animations 12.1.7d,e. Rossby waves emanating from the heat source disperse along great circles and perturb the flow to the east of the heat source, as in the solutions with the model based on the barotropic vorticity equation shown in Fig. 1d of Sardeshmukh and Hoskins (1988). The zonally symmetric component of the response is not as strong as in Animation 12.1-7c, presumably because the poleward transport of westerly momentum by the planetary waves dispersing back into the equatorial belt along great circles cancels some of the equatorward transport by the anticyclonic gyres to the west of the heat source.


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Last Updated: 5/7/2023