Ozone Hole Meteorology: Wind
The Antarctic continent is circled by a strong jet stream in the stratosphere (above 12 km or 39,000 ft). Looking down on the South Pole, this jet stream flows around Antarctica in a clockwise sense. This jet stream isolates air over Antarctica from air in the midlatitudes. The region poleward of this jet stream is called the Antarctic polar vortex. A stronger jet stream flow results in greater isolation of polar air from midlatitude air (less mixing). The air inside the Antarctic polar vortex is also much colder then midlatitude air.
Comparison to all years
The following figures show the daily progression through the ozone hole season, comparing the current year to the climatology of all other years.
The average 100 hPa east-west (zonal) wind speed at
60°S. This is near the peak of the polar jet
maximum. A 45 m/s wind speed is equal to 100 mph.
- 60°S Zonal Wind …
-
45°–75°S Zonal Wind …
The average 100 hPa east-west (zonal) wind speed for
45°–75°S. This is near the peak of the
polar jet maximum. A 45 m/s wind speed is equal to
100 mph.
-- click on a link for a PDF figure --
Detailed descriptions of the plots are available. The Code 613.3 web page has many other meteorological statistics.