Temporal Evolution of Solar Interior Meridional Flow

Abstract:

Solar meridional flow is a global-scale phenomenon that is
believed to play an important role in redistributing rotational
angular momentum, and transporting magnetic flux poleward from
low-latitude regions in the Sun's shallow interior. Using the first
4.5 years of SDO/HMI observation, we study the temporal evolution of the
meridional flow in both shallow and deeper interiors. For the shallow
interior near the surface, flow speed decreases with the increase of
magnetic activity. Flow speed above the latitude of 35 degree shows
an anti-correlation with the magnetic flux being transported poleward.
For the deep interior, the equatorward flow was previously detected
below 0.91 R_sun, and here we study how this flow-reversal depth varies
with the solar cycle.