2008/08/26 by J. I. Gónzalez Hernández, I. Gonzalez Hernandez, S. Kholikov +3 · 1 citation
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Physics and Astronomy · #Amplitude #Astro and Planetary Science #Atmospheric sciences #Climatology #Flow (mathematics) #Geodesy #Geology #Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism Studies #Geophysics #Magnetic field #Mechanics #Meridional flow #Optics #Physics #Residual #Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics #Zonal and meridional #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1007/s11207-008-9264-y
12 pages, 6 figures, Submitted to Solar Physics. Accepted (08/25/2008)
arxiv created 2008/08/26 · openalex publication_date 2008/10/08 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Temporal variations of the subsurface meridional flow with the solar cycle have been reported by several authors. The measurements are typically averaged over periods of time during which surface magnetic activity existed in the regions were the velocities are calculated. The present work examines the possible contamination of these measurements due to the extra velocity fields associated with active regions plus the uncertainties in the data obtained where strong magnetic fields are present. We perform a systematic analysis of more than five years of GONG data and compare meridional flows obtained by ring-diagram analysis before and after removing the areas of strong magnetic field. The overall trend of increased amplitude of the meridional flow towards solar minimum remains after removal of large areas associated with surface activity. We also find residual circulation toward the active belts that persist even after the removal of the surface magnetic activity, suggesting the existence of a global pattern or longitudinally-located organized flows.