Geographical Distribution of the Semidiurnal Pressure Oscillation at Different Seasons

B. Haurwitz, Gloria M. Sepúlveda
1957 Journal of the Meteorological Society of Japan  
From the investigations by Hann and Schou the amplitudes and phases of the 12-hourly pressure oscillation (S2) were obtained for 136 stations for four months (January, March, July, and September). These data were grouped into latitude zones. It was then assumed that the observed oscillation is due to two component oscillations of the atmosphere: one (W2) having the same phase in local time on each circle of latitude and the other (Z2) having the same phase in Greenwich time on each circle of
more » ... itude. Because of lack of data from high latitudes only the amplitudes and the phase angles of W2 could be determined with reasonable reliability. A strong asymmetry in the latitudinal distribution of the amplitudes of W2 was found for January, resulting in larger amplitudes in the northern hemisphere than in the southern hemisphere. In March W2 has likewise larger amplitudes in the northern hemisphere, while in July and September it has smaller amplitudes in the northern hemisphere. It is surmised that this asymmetry is due to the meridional temperature distribution of the atmosphere. The amplitude of W2 shows at all latitudes a minimum in the summer, in agreement with earlier results. The variation of the phase angle from season to season is small, and it is impossible to decide whether this small change represents a real seasonal variation or
doi:10.2151/jmsj1923.35a.0_149 fatcat:3jffv4tkq5dvhjnfmtdsyu3uke