| Abstract: | Based on the Complex Empirical Orthogonal Functions (CEOFs) of bandpass-filtered daily streamfunction fields, a quantitative method of detecting transient (synoptic) Rossby wave phase speed (RWPhS) is presented. The transient RWPhS can be objectively calculated by the distance between a high (or low) center in the real part of a CEOF mode and its counterpart in the imaginary part of the same CEOF mode divided by the time span between two adjacent peaks (or bottoms) of two principal component curves for the real and imaginary parts of that CEOF mode. The new detection method may partly reveal the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of Rossby wave prorogation. Although the mean westerly jet at 200 hPa doubles the speed of its counterpart at 500 hPa, the estimated RWPhS at both levels are around 1000 km d–1 and quantitatively consistent with the quasigeostrophic-theory-based RWPhS, confirming that the meridional potential vorticity gradient induced by the barotropic and baroclinic shears of mean flow, together with the β effect, play an essential role in Rossby wave propagation. Both observations over the past four decades and a 150-year historical simulation suggest no evidence for slowing wintertime transient Rossby waves in the Northern Hemisphere, but possible regional changes are not excluded. We emphasize that not only the mean flow speed, but also the barotropic and baroclinic shears of the mean flow, and their associated contributions to the meridional potential vorticity (PV) gradient, should be considered in investigating the possible change of Rossby waves with global warming. |
