Work

Topography-induced locking of drifting Rossby–Haurwitz waves

Year: 2020

Type: article

Abstract: Atmospheric blockings are persistent large-scale climate patterns that lock in a geographic position for days and even weeks. In principle, blockings might involve a large number of waves interacting non-linearly, and a conclusive description for their onset and duration is still elusive. In this paper, we introduce a simplified account for this phenomenon by means of a single-triad of Rossby–Haurwitz waves perturbed by one topographic mode. It is shown that the dynamical features of persistent flow patterns have zero measure in the phase space for an unperturbed triad, but such a measure becomes finite for the perturbed dynamics. By this account, we suggest that static inhomogeneities in the two-dimensional atmospheric layer are required for locking the flow patterns to the planetary rotation.

Source: Physics of Fluids

DOI: 10.1063/1.5142570

Authors: D. Ciro, B. Raphaldini, C. F. M. Raupp

Institution: Universidade de São Paulo

Language: English

Topic: Meteorological Phenomena and Simulations

Subfield: Atmospheric Science

Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo, Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior

Award: G818278368