Numerical Modeling of the Influence of the Relief of a Planet on the Global Circulation of the Earth’s Stratosphere and Mesosphere

Abstract

An investigation of the influence of the relief of a planet on the global circulation of the Earth’s atmosphere is an important problem. Beyond doubt, mountains affect the global circulation of the troposphere, however, their influence on the global circulation of the stratosphere and mesosphere is not evident. In the present study, to investigate the influence of the relief of a planet on the global circulation of the Earth’s stratosphere and mesosphere, the non-hydrostatic mathematical model, developed earlier in the Polar Geophysical Institute, is utilized. Calculations were made for two distinct cases. The relief of the planet was taken into account for the first case. Unlike, the Earth’s surface was assumed to be smooth for the second case. Simulations were performed for the winter period in the northern hemisphere (January). Simulation results, obtained for both considered cases, are qualitatively similar at the levels of stratosphere and mesosphere, however, some noticeable distinctions exist. The horizontal domains exist, where the simulated horizontal and vertical components of the neutral wind velocity, obtained for two considered cases, differ noticeably at the levels of the stratosphere and mesosphere. Some of these horizontal domains are not connected with positions of mountains at the Earth’s surface. On the contrary, some of these horizontal domains are situated above mountains.