Computer studies of baroclinic flow

Abstract

Programs necessary for computing the transition curve on the regime diagram for the atmospheric general circulation experiment (AGOE) were completed and used to determine the regime diagram for the rotating annulus and some axisymmetric flows for one possible AGOE configuration. The effect of geometrical constraints on the size of eddies developing from a basic state is being examined. In AGOE, the geometric constraint should be the width of the shear zone or the baroclinic zone. Linear and nonlinear models are to be used to examine both barotropic and baroclinic flows. The results should help explain the scale selection mechanism of baroclinic eddies in the atmosphere experimental models such as AGOE, and the multiple vortex phenomenon in tornadoes.