Abstract
An idealized baroclinic instability case is simulated using a ∼10 km resolution global model to investigate the characteristics of gravity waves generated in the baroclinic life cycle. Three groups of gravity waves appear around the high-latitude surface trough at the mature stage of the baroclinic wave. They have horizontal and vertical wavelengths of 40-400 and 2.9-9.8 km, respectively, in the upper troposphere. The two-dimensional phase-velocity spectrum of the waves is arc shaped with a peak at 17 m s-1 eastward. These waves have difficulty in propagating upward through the tropospheric westerly jet. At the breaking stage of the baroclinic wave, a midlatitude surface low is isolated from the higher-latitude trough, and two groups of quasi-stationary gravity waves appear near the surface low. These waves have horizontal and vertical wavelengths of 60-400 and 4.9-14 km, respectively, and are able to propagate vertically for long distances. The simulated gravity waves seem to be generated by surface fronts, given that the structures and speeds of wave phases are coherent with those of the fronts.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 4799-4815 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| Journal | Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue number | 8 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2016 Apr 19 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Y.-H. Kim and H.-Y. Chun were supported by the Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI, PE15090) and by the R&D project on the development of global numerical weather prediction systems of the Korea Institute of Atmospheric Prediction Systems (KIAPS), funded by the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).
Publisher Copyright:
© Author(s) 2016.
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Atmospheric Science