Jet stream

Jet streams are fast flowing, relatively narrow air currents found at the tropopause, the transition between the troposphere (where temperature decreases with height) and the stratosphere (where temperature increases with height), [United States Department of Energy June 26, 2002. [http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/wea00/wea00135.htm Ask a Scientist.] Retrieved on 2008-05-05.] and are located at 10-15 kilometers above the surface of the Earth. They form near boundaries of adjacent air masses with significant differences in temperature, such as the polar region and the warmer air to the south. [University of Illinois. [http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/cyc/upa/jet.rxml Jet Stream.] Retrieved on 2008-05-04.] The path of the jet typically has a meandering shape, and these meanders are one manifestation of Rossby waves. Rossby waves propagate westward with respect to the flow in which they are embedded, which translates to a slower eastward migration across the globe than smaller scale short wave troughs. The major jet streams are westerly winds (flowing west to east) in the Northern Hemisphere.

During the summer, low-level easterly jets can form in tropical regions. A southerly low level jet in the Great Plains of North America helps fuel overnight thunderstorm activity, normally in the form of mesoscale convective systems. A similar northerly low-level jet can form across Australia, instigated by cut-off lows which develop across southwest portions of the country.

Meteorologists use the location of the jet stream as an aid in weather forecasting. The main commercial use of the jet stream is during airline travel, as flight time can be dramatically affected by either flying with or against the stream. One type of clear-air turbulence is found in the jet stream's vicinity, which can be a hazard to aircraft. One future benefit of the jet stream could be to power airborne wind turbines, if technological hurdles can be overcome.

Discovery

The existence of the jet stream may have been first detected in the 1920s by Japanese meteorologist Wasaburo Ooishi. [John M. Lewis. [http://ams.allenpress.com/perlserv/?request=get-abstract&doi=10.1175%2FBAMS-84-3-357 Ooishi's Observation: Viewed in the Context of Jet Stream Discovery.] Retrieved on 2008-05-08.] From a site near Mount Fuji, he tracked pilot balloons, also known as pibals (balloons used to determine upper level winds using a theodolite and the balloon's known ascension rate due to its internal gas), [Martin Brenner. [http://www.csulb.edu/~mbrenner/balloon.htm Pilot Balloon Resources.] Retrieved on 2008-05-13.] as they rose into the atmosphere. Ooishi's work largely went unnoticed outside of Japan. American pilot Wiley Post, the first man to fly around the world solo in 1933, is often given some credit for discovery of the jet stream. Post invented a pressurized suit that let him fly above convert|6200|m|ft. In the year before his death, Post made several attempts at a high-altitude transcontinental flight, and noticed that at times his ground speed greatly exceeded his air speed. [Acepilots.com. [http://www.acepilots.com/post.html Wiley Post.] Retrieved on 2008-05-08.] German meteorologist H. Seilkopf is credited with coining the term "jet stream" (Strahlströmung) in a 1939 paper. [ [http://www.aos.princeton.edu/WWWPUBLIC/gkv/history/Lewis-on-Phillips98.pdf John M. Lewis: Clarifying the Dynamics of the General Circulation: Phillips’s 1956 Experiment] from: Bulletin of the American Meterological Society, Vol. 79, No. 1, January 1988] Many sources credit real understanding of the nature of jet streams to regular and repeated flight-path traversals during World War II. Flyers consistently noticed tailwinds in excess of 100 mph in flights, for example, between the US and UK. [BBC. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/features/basics_jetstreams.shtml Weather Basics - Jet Streams.] Retrieved on 2008-05-08.]

Description

There are two main jet streams north of subtropical latitudes, with a weaker subtropical stream closer to the equator. The polar jet stream is typically located near the 250 hPa (7.38 inHg) pressure level, or convert|7|km|mi to convert|12|km|mi above sea level, while the subtropical jet is much higher, between convert|10|km|mi and convert|16|km|mi above sea level. Both upper-level jet streams form near breaks in the tropopause, which is at a higher altitude near the equator than it is over the poles, with large changes in its height occurring near the location of the jet stream.David R. Cook [http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/wea00/wea00067.htm Jet Stream Behavior.] Retrieved on 2008-05-08.] [B. Geerts and E. Linacre. [http://www-das.uwyo.edu/~geerts/cwx/notes/chap01/tropo.html The Height of the Tropopause.] Retrieved on 2008-05-08.] The streams are most commonly found between latitudes 30°N and 60°N, with the subtropical jet stream located close to latitude 30°N. The upper level jet stream is said to "follow the sun" as it moves northward during the warm season, or late spring and summer, and southward during the cold season, or autumn and winter. [National Weather Service JetStream. [http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream//global/jet.htm The Jet Stream.] Retrieved on 2008-05-08.] [McDougal Littell. [http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/content/investigations/es1908/es1908page04.cfm Paths of Polar and Subtropical Jet Streams.] Retrieved on 2008-05-13.]

Jet streams are typically continuous over long distances, but discontinuities are common.Glossary of Meteorology. [http://amsglossary.allenpress.com/glossary/search?id=jet-stream1 Jet Stream.] Retrieved on 2008-05-08.] The path of the jet typically has a meandering shape, and these meanders themselves propagate east, at lower speeds than that of the actual wind within the flow. Each large meander, or wave, within the jet stream is known as a Rossby wave. Rossby waves are caused by changes in the Coriolis effect with latitude, and propagate westward with respect to the flow in which they are embedded, which slows down the eastward migration of upper level troughs and ridges across the globe when compared to their embedded shortwave troughs. [Glossary of Meteorology. [http://amsglossary.allenpress.com/glossary/search?id=rossby-wave1 Rossby Wave.] Retrieved on 2008-05-13.] Shortwave troughs are smaller packets of upper level energy, on the scale of convert|1000|km|mi to convert|4000|km|mi long, [Glossary of Meteorology. [http://amsglossary.allenpress.com/glossary/search?id=cyclone-wave1 Cyclone wave.] Retrieved on 2008-05-13.] which move through the flow pattern around large scale, or longwave, ridges and troughs within Rossby waves. [Glossary of Meteorology. [http://amsglossary.allenpress.com/glossary/search?p=1&query=short+wave&submit=Search Short wave.] Retrieved on 2008-05-13.] Jet streams can split into two due to the formation of an upper-level closed low, which diverts a portion of the jet stream under its base, while the remainder of the jet moves by to its north.

The wind speeds vary according to the temperature gradient, exceeding convert|92|km/h|kn,Glossary of Meteorology. [http://amsglossary.allenpress.com/glossary/search?id=jet-stream1 Jet Stream.] Retrieved on 2008-05-08.] although speeds of over convert|398|km/h|kn have been measured.Robert Roy Britt. [http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/solarsystem/jupiter_sidebar_000209.html et Streams On Earth and Jupiter.] Retrieved on 2008-05-04.] Meteorologists now understand that the path of the jet stream steers cyclonic storm systems at lower levels in the atmosphere, and so knowledge of their course has become an important part of weather forecasting. For example, in 2007, Britain experienced severe flooding as a result of the polar jet staying south for the summer. [cite web |title = Why has it been so wet? |publisher = BBC |date = July 23, 2007 |url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6911918.stm |accessdate = 2007-07-31 ] [Blackburn, Mike; Hoskins, Brian; Slingo, Julia: cite web |url = http://www.walker-institute.ac.uk/news/summer_2007.pdf |title = Notes on the Meteorological Context of the UK Flooding in June and July 2007 |publisher = Walker Institute for Climate System Research |date = July 25, 2007 |accessdate = 2007-08-29 |format = PDF ]

Cause

Upper-level variety

In general, winds are strongest just under the tropopause (except during tornadoes, hurricanes or other anomalous situations). If two air masses of different temperatures or densities meet, the resulting pressure difference caused by the density difference (which causes wind) is highest within the transition zone. The wind does not flow directly from the hot to the cold area, but is deflected by the Coriolis effect and flows along the boundary of the two air masses.John P. Stimac. [http://www.ux1.eiu.edu/~cfjps/1400/pressure_wind.html Air pressure and wind.] Retrieved on 2008-05-08.] The polar front and subtropical jets merge at some locations and times, while at other times they are well separated.

All these facts are consequences of the thermal wind relation. The balance of forces on an atmospheric parcel in the vertical direction is primarily between the pressure gradient and the force of gravity, a balance referred to as hydrostatic. In the horizontal, the dominant balance outside of the tropics is between the Coriolis effect and the pressure gradient, a balance referred to as geostrophic. Given both hydrostatic and geostrophic balance, one can derive the thermal wind relation: the vertical derivative of the horizontal wind is proportional to the horizontal temperature gradient. The sense of the relation is such that temperatures decreasing polewards implies that winds develop a larger eastward component as one moves upwards. Therefore, the strong eastward moving jet streams are in part a simple consequence of the fact that the equator is warmer than the north and south poles.John P. Stimac. [http://www.ux1.eiu.edu/~cfjps/1400/pressure_wind.html Air pressure and wind.] Retrieved on 2008-05-08.]

The thermal wind relation does not immediately provide an explanation for why the winds are organized in tight jets, rather than distributed more broadly over the hemisphere. There are two factors that contribute to this sharpness of the jets. One is the tendency for developing cyclonic disturbances in midlatitudes to form fronts. A front is a sharp localized gradient in temperature. The polar front jet stream can be thought of as the result of this frontogenesis process in midlatitudes, as the storms concentrate the north-south temperature contrast into relatively narrow regions.Glossary of Meteorology. [http://amsglossary.allenpress.com/glossary/search?id=jet-stream1 Jet Stream.] Retrieved on 2008-05-08.]

An alternative explanation is more appropriate for the subtropical jet, which forms at the poleward limit of the tropical Hadley cell. One can visualize this circulation as being symmetric with respect to longitude. Rings of air encircling the Earth move polewards beneath the tropopause from the equator into the subtropics. As they do so they tend to conserve their angular momentum. But they are also moving closer to the axis of rotation, so they must spin faster in the direction of rotation, implying an increased eastward component of the winds. [Lyndon State College Meteorology. [http://apollo.lsc.vsc.edu/classes/met130/notes/chapter10/subt_jet_form.html Jet Stream Formation - Subtropical Jet.] Retrieved on 2008-05-08.]

Jupiter's atmosphere has multiple jet streams, forming the familiar banded color structure, caused by internal heating.Robert Roy Britt. [http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/solarsystem/jupiter_sidebar_000209.html et Streams On Earth and Jupiter.] Retrieved on 2008-05-04.] The factors that control the number of jet streams in a planetary atmosphere is an active area of research in dynamical meteorology. In models, as one increases the planetary radius, holding all other parameters fixed, the number of jet streams increases.

Low-level variety

There are low-level wind maxima in the atmosphere that are referred to as jets, such as the African easterly jet which occurs during the Northern Hemisphere summer between 10°N and 20°N from the Indian Ocean across Africa, and the nocturnal poleward low-level jet in the Great Plains. The easterly jet out of Africa is formed because of heating of the Tibetan plateau and subsequent anticyclogenesis. [Dr. Alex DeCaria. [http://snowball.millersville.edu/~adecaria/ESCI344/esci344_lesson04_seasonal_mean_wind_fields.html Lesson 4 – Seasonal-mean Wind Fields.] Retrieved on 2008-05-03.] The equatorward divergence takes the form of easterlies, embedded in the form of easterly jets. This jet stream is considered to play a crucial role in the southwest monsoon of Africa, [Kerry H. Cook. [http://ams.allenpress.com/perlserv/?request=get-abstract&doi=10.1175%2F1520-0442(1999)012%3C1165%3AGOTAEJ%3E2.0.CO%3B2 Generation of the African Easterly Jet and Its Role in Determining West African Precipitation.] Retrieved on 2008-05-08.] and helps form the tropical waves which march across the tropical Atlantic and eastern Pacific oceans during the warm season. [Chris Landsea. AOML Frequently Asked Questions. [http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/A4.html Subject: A4) What is an easterly wave ?] Retrieved on 2008-05-08.] A southerly low-level jet in the Great Plains helps fuel overnight thunderstorm activity during the warm season, normally in the form of mesoscale convective systems which form during the overnight hours. [Matt Kumijan, Jeffry Evans, and Jared Guyer. [http://www.spc.noaa.gov/publications/evans/kumjian.pdf The Relationship of the Great Plains Low Level Jet to Nocturnal MCS Development.] Retrieved on 2008-05-08.] A similar phenomenon develops across Australia, which pulls moisture poleward from the Coral Sea towards cut-off lows which form mainly across southwestern portions of the continent. [L. Qi, L.M. Leslie, and S.X. Zhao. [http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/68500464/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0 Cut-off low pressure systems over southern Australia: climatology and case study.] Retrieved on 2008-05-08.]

Uses

Airplanes

The location of the jet stream is extremely important for airlines. Commercial use of the jet stream began on November 18, 1952, when Pan Am flew from Tokyo to Honolulu at an altitude of convert|7600|m|ft. It cut the trip time by over one-third, from 18 to 11.5 hours. [M. D. Klaas. [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3901/is_200006/ai_n8911736/pg_2 Stratocruiser: Part three.] Retrieved on 2008-05-08.] Not only does it cut time off the flight, it also nets fuel savings for the airline industry. [Ned Rozell. [http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF17/1727.html Amazing flying machines allow time travel.] Retrieved on 2008-05-08.] Within North America, the time needed to fly east across the continent can be decreased by about 30 minutes if an airplane can fly with the jet stream, or increased by more than that amount if it must fly west against it.

Associated with jet streams is a phenomenon known as clear air turbulence (CAT), caused by vertical and horizontal windshear connected to the jet streams. [BBC. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/features/understanding/jetstreams_uk.shtml Jet Streams in the UK.] Retrieved on 2008-05-08.] The CAT is strongest on the cold air side of the jet, [M. P. de Villiers and J. van Heerden. [http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=73339 Clear air turbulence over South Africa.] Retrieved on 2008-05-08.] next to and just underneath the axis of the jet. [CLARK T. L., HALL W. D., KERR R. M., MIDDLETON D., RADKE L., RALPH F. M., NEIMAN P. J., LEVINSON D. [http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=1345004 Origins of aircraft-damaging clear-air turbulence during the December 9, 1992 Colorado downslope windstorm : Numerical simulations and comparison with observations.] Retrieved on 2008-05-08.] Clear air turbulence can be hazardous to aircraft, and has caused fatal accidents, such as with BOAC Flight 911 and United Airlines Flight 826. [Aviation Safety Network. [http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19660305-1 Accident Description for BOAC Flight 911.] Retrieved on 2008-05-13.] [National Transportation Safety Board. [http://www.ntsb.gov/Pressrel/1997/971230.htm Aircraft Accident Investigation United Airlines flight 826, Pacific Ocean December 28, 1997.] Retrieved on 2008-05-13.] cite news | url = http://www.cnn.com/US/9712/29/united.turbulence/ | title = NTSB investigates United Airlines plunge | author = Staff writer | publisher = CNN | date = December 29, 1997 | accessdate = 2008-05-13]

Future power generation

Scientists are investigating ways to harness the wind energy within the jet stream using airborne wind turbines. Kite-like wind generators have been proposed, which would transmit electricity back to the ground via either aluminum cables, copper cables, or beams of microwave energy. Tethered balloons, which reach heights of convert|4500|m|ft, have been used to monitor drug trafficking over many years, with no reported airplane incidents. According to one estimate, only 1 percent of the potential wind energy in the jet stream could meet the world's current energy needs. The required technology would reportedly take 10–20 years to develop. [Keay Davidson. [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/05/07/MNGNEPMD801.DTL Scientists look high in the sky for power.] Retrieved on 2008-05-08.]

Changes due to climate cycles

Effects of ENSO

The changing of the normal location of upper-level jet streams can be anticipated during phases of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), which leads to consequences precipitation-wise and temperature-wise across North America, affects tropical cyclone development across the eastern Pacific and Atlantic basins. Combined with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, ENSO can also impact cold season rainfall in Europe. [Davide Zanchettin, Stewart W. Franks, Pietro Traverso, and Mario Tomasino. [http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/114802316/abstract On ENSO impacts on European wintertime rainfalls and their modulation by the NAO and the Pacific multi-decadal variability described through the PDO index.] Retrieved on 2008-05-13.] Changes in ENSO also change the location of the jet stream over South America, which partially effects precipitation distribution over the continent.Caio Augusto dos Santos Coelho and Térico Ambrizzi. [http://www.cptec.inpe.br/~caio/chile2000.pdf 5A.4. Climatological Studies of the Influences of El Niño Southern Oscillation Events in the Precipitation Pattern Over South America During Austral Summer.] Retrieved on 2008-05-13.]

El Niño

During El Niño events, increased precipitation is expected in California due to a more southerly, zonal, storm track. [John Monteverdi and Jan Null. [http://tornado.sfsu.edu/geosciences/elnino/elnino.html WESTERN REGION TECHNICAL ATTACHMENT NO. 97-37 NOVEMBER 21, 1997: El Niño and California Precipitation.] Retrieved on 2008-02-28.] During the El Niño portion of ENSO, increased precipitation falls along the Gulf coast and Southeast due to a stronger than normal, and more southerly, polar jet stream. [Climate Prediction Center. [http://www.cpc.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/ensocycle/ensorain.shtml El Niño (ENSO) Related Rainfall Patterns Over the Tropical Pacific.] Retrieved on 2008-02-28.] Snowfall is greater than average across the southern Rockies and Sierra Nevada mountain range, and is well-below normal across the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes states. [Climate Prediction Center. [http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/lanina/us_impacts/ustp_impacts.shtml ENSO Impacts on United States Winter Precipitation and Temperature.] Retrieved on 2008-04-16.] The northern tier of the lower 48 exhibits above normal temperatures during the fall and winter, while the Gulf coast experiences below normal temperatures during the winter season. [Climate Prediction Center. [http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/threats2/enso/elnino/UStrank/ond.gifAverage October-December (3-month) Temperature Rankings During ENSO Events.] Retrieved on 2008-04-16.] [Climate Prediction Center. [http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/threats2/enso/elnino/UStrank/djf.gifAverage December-February (3-month) Temperature Rankings During ENSO Events.] Retrieved on 2008-04-16.] The subtropical jet stream across the deep tropics of the Northern Hemisphere is enhanced due to increased convection in the equatorial Pacific, which decreases tropical cyclogenesis within the Atlantic tropics below what is normal, and increases tropical cyclone activity across the eastern Pacific.cite web|url=http://www.cpc.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/ensostuff/ensofaq.shtml#HURRICANES|publisher=Climate Prediction Center|format=FAQ|accessdate=2008-03-21|title=How do El Niño and La Nina influence the Atlantic and Pacific hurricane seasons?] In the Southern Hemisphere, the subtropical jet stream is displaced equatorward, or north, of its normal position, which diverts frontal systems and thunderstorm complexes from reaching central portions of the continent.Caio Augusto dos Santos Coelho and Térico Ambrizzi. [http://www.cptec.inpe.br/~caio/chile2000.pdf 5A.4. Climatological Studies of the Influences of El Niño Southern Oscillation Events in the Precipitation Pattern Over South America During Austral Summer.] Retrieved on 2008-05-13.]

La Niña

Across North America during La Niña, increased precipitation is diverted into the Pacific Northwest due to a more northerly storm track and jet stream. [Nathan Mantua. [http://www.ccb.ucar.edu/lanina/report/mantua.html La Niña Impacts in the Pacific Northwest.] Retrieved on 2008-02-29.] The storm track shifts far enough northward to bring wetter than normal conditions (in the form of increased snowfall) to the Midwestern states, as well as hot and dry summers. [Southeast Climate Consortium. [http://www.agclimate.org/Development/apps/agClimate/controller/perl/agClimate.pl/agClimate.pl?function=climforecast/outlook.html&location=local&type SECC Winter Climate Outlook.] Retrieved on 2008-02-29.] [Reuters. [http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN1619766420070216 La Nina could mean dry summer in Midwest and Plains.] Retrieved on 2008-02-29.] Snowfall is above normal across the Pacific Northwest and western Great Lakes. [Climate Prediction Center. [http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/lanina/us_impacts/ustp_impacts.shtml ENSO Impacts on United States Winter Precipitation and Temperature.] Retrieved on 2008-04-16.] Across the North Atlantic, the jet stream is stronger than normal, which directs stronger systems with increased precipitation towards Europe. [Paul Simons and Simon de Bruxelles. [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article3200801.ece More rain and more floods as La Niña sweeps across the globe.] Retrieved on 2008-05-13.]

Jetstreams Possibly Moving

Between 1979 and 2001, it has been found that the position of the jet stream has been moving northward at a rate of convert|2.01|km|mi per year across the Northern Hemisphere. Across North America, this type of change could lead to drier conditions across the southern tier of the United States and more frequent and more intense tropical cyclones in the tropics. A similar slow poleward drift was found when studying the Southern Hemisphere jet stream over the same time frame. [Associated Press. [http://www.komotv.com/news/17918694.html Jet stream found to be permanently drifting north.] Retrieved on 2008-05-08.]

The Dust Bowl

Evidence suggests the jet stream was at least partially responsible for the wide drought conditions during the 1930s Dust Bowl in the Midwest United States. Normally, the jet stream flows west over the Gulf of Mexico and turns northward pulling up moisture and dumping rain onto the Great Plains. During the Dust Bowl, the jet stream weakened and changed course traveling farther south than normal. This starved the Great Plains and other areas of the Midwest of precious rain creating dusty conditions. [Weather at About.com. [http://weather.about.com/od/weatherfaqs/f/dustbowl.html Causes of the Dust Bowl in the United States.] Retrieved on 2008-06-10.]

ee also

*Surface weather analysis
*Tornado
*Wind shear
*Japanese balloon bombing of the United States during World War II
*Sting jet

References

External links

* [http://squall.sfsu.edu/crws/jetstream.html Graphics and movies of the current jet streams.]
* [http://ams.allenpress.com/amsonline/?request=get-abstract&doi=10.1175%2FBAMS-84-3-357 John M. Lewis. (2001). Ooishi's Observation: Viewed in the Context of Jet Stream Discovery. National Severe Storms Laboratory.]