Abstract
An iterative scheme for computing the vertical velocity and the divergent part of wind velocity from only the rotational part of the observed wind data using the vorticity equation and the continuity equation is described. This scheme is suited for the analysis of synopticscale motions in the tropics. The iteration is convergent when absolute values of the absolute vorticity are not too small.
A typical easterly wave over the Caribbean Sea in the summer of 1962 is analyzed by the proposed method. The easterly wave has upward motions to the east of the wave axis and downward motions to the west. The order of the maximum upward velocity is about -10 mb hour-1 (4 cm sec-1). Vertical motions around an upper-level shear line are studied, and the budget of vorticity is discussed.
