Wind contributions to the Earth's angular momentum budgets in seasonal variation

Abstract

The atmospheric contributions to seasonal variations in length of day (LOD) and wobble are discussed for the period 1988–1997. The data sets used here are SPACE97 and EOP97C04 for LOD and wobble, respectively. Two atmospheric angular momentum (AAM) functions are calculated from the operational objective analysis data of the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) and the reanalysis data of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP)/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). Both the axial AAM functions agree well in annual variation and roughly in semiannual variation, with the function inferred from the observed LOD. The two equatorial AAM functions show the different wind contributions to the function inferred from the observed wobble, in both annual and semiannual variations, which are attributable in part to the different vertical wind integration methods between NCEP/NCAR and JMA. The equatorial tropospheric wind contributions, calculated by the same method, are found to show discrepancies arising from the different tropospheric regional winds associated with the Asian monsoon.