Holzer 2008, submitted

Holzer, M., 2008: The path density of interhemispheric surface-to-surface transport. Part I: Development of the diagnostic and illustration with an analytic model. J. Atmos. Sci., submitted.

A new path-density diagnostic for atmospheric surface-to-surface transport is formulated. The path density, η, gives the joint probability that air, whose last surface contact occurred on patch Ω_i at time t_i, will make its next surface contact with patch Ω_f after a residence time τ ∈ (τ, τ+dτ) and that it can be found in d³r during its surface-to-surface journey. The dependence on τ allows the average surface-to-surface flow rate carried by the paths to be computed. A simple algorithm for using passive tracers to determine η is developed. A key advantage of the diagnostic is that it can be computed effciently without an adjoint model and using only a moderately large number of tracers. The nature of the path density is illustrated with a simple one-dimensional advection-diffusion model. In Part II of this study the path density diagnostic is applied to quantify interhemispheric transport through the troposphere and stratosphere.

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Holzer, M.: The path density of interhemispheric surface-to-surface transport. Part I: Development of the diagnostic and illustration with an analytic model, J. Atmos. Sci., submitted, 2008.

Holzer, M. (2008), The path density of interhemispheric surface-to-surface transport. Part I: Development of the diagnostic and illustration with an analytic model, J. Atmos. Sci., submitted.

Holzer, M., 2008: The path density of interhemispheric surface-to-surface transport. Part I: Development of the diagnostic and illustration with an analytic model. J. Atmos. Sci., submitted.

Holzer, M. 2008, J. Atmos. Sci., submitted.

Holzer M. The path density of interhemispheric surface-to-surface transport. Part I: Development of the diagnostic and illustration with an analytic model, J Atmos Sci 2008, submitted.

M. Holzer, J. Atmos. Sci., submitted.