Large-Scale Solar Subsurface Flows During Solar Cycle Minimum

The long solar minimum between cycles 23/24 allows us to study large-scale flows, such as rotation and meridional flow, as a dynamical process without bias due to magnetic fields. We study the subsurface flows in the near-surface layers of the convection zone with a local helioseismic technique, called ring-diagram analysis, using Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG) data obtained during the years 2008 and early 2009. We focus on the meridional flow and the divergence and vorticity of subsurface flows during this exceptional solar minimum. We also search for large-scale coherent structures that might be present in the convection zone but might be easily obscured by the effect of surface magnetic fields during other epochs of the solar cycle. We will present the most recent results.