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- Title
Assessing Latent and Kinetic Energy Trend Changes in Extratropical Cyclones From 1940 to 2020: Results From ERA‐5 Reanalysis.
- Authors
Dzambo, Andrew; McFarquhar, Greg; Sledd, Anne; L'Ecuyer, Tristan
- Abstract
Baroclinic or extratropical cyclones (ETCs) transport heat and moisture to higher latitudes, making it fundamentally important to understand how their influence changes as Earth's climate evolves. A 2–8‐day Lanzcos bandpass filter is applied to European Center for Medium Range Weather Forecasting 5th Generation Reanalysis latent energy (LE) and kinetic energy (KE) data to assess how ETCs have changed from 1940 to 2020 relative to full‐scale changes in LE and KE. Full‐scale KE trends are more positive at high latitudes relative to mid‐latitudes, confirming several previous studies that ETCs have shifted poleward. LE increases have occurred globally, and trends in both full‐scale LE and KE are statistically significant in the southern high latitudes. The high relative fractional contribution of 2–8‐day LE wave power and trend clearly suggest that ETCs have an increasingly important role in poleward moisture transport but are not solely responsible for the observed statistically significant increases. Plain Language Summary: Understanding changes to mid‐ and high‐latitude storm locations is paramount to better predicting how Earth's climate has changed and may change going forward. This study extends several previous studies to focus on the role these storms have in transporting moisture poleward, and if changes in moisture transport over the last 80 years are significant. We find a significant increase in moisture across the southern midlatitudes, but this increase is not solely associated with significant increases in storm energy. No significant increases are found in the northern hemisphere. Key Points: Kinetic Energy trends from 1940 to 2020 confirm several existing studies showing a poleward shift in extratropical cyclone track locationsStatistically significant increases in kinetic and latent energy are found across southern hemisphere midlatitude cyclone track locationsCyclones at 2–8‐day time scales, however, are not solely responsible for these statistically significant increases
- Subjects
CYCLONES; LONG-range weather forecasting; KINETIC energy; CYCLONE tracking; OCEAN wave power; BANDPASS filters
- Publication
Geophysical Research Letters, 2023, Vol 50, Issue 23, p1
- ISSN
0094-8276
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1029/2023GL105207