On the Role of the Kelvin Wave in the Westerly Phase of the Semiannual Zonal Wind Oscillation

Abstract

The role of the Kelvin wave, discovered by Hirota (1978), in producing the westerly accelerations of the semiannual zonal wind oscillation in the tropical upper stratosphere is examined quantitatively. It is shown that, for reasonable values of the wave parameters, this Kelvin wave could indeed give rise to the observed accelerations. For the thermal damping rates of Dickinson (1973), the most likely range of phase speeds for a wavenumber 1 disturbance is from 45 to 60 m s⁻¹. For “photochemically accelerated” damping rates (Blake and Lindzen, 1973), a phase speed in excess of 70 m s⁻¹ would he required. The possibility of a significant modulation of the semiannual westerlies by the quasi-biennial oscillation is also suggested.