Nonlinear instability of a forced baroclinic Rossby wave

Abstract

The nonlinear instability of forced baroclinic Rossby waves to finite-amplitude perturbations was investigated using a simple two-layer quasi-geostrophic weakly nonlinear model and a low-order spectral model, developed for this purpose. The results were applied to a study of the interaction of planetary-scale stationary eddies with synoptic-scale transient eddies. A comparison of the energetics of the weakly nonlinear solution with that seen in observational analysis and in GCM experiments indicate three basic properties of the interaction between the two types of eddies: (1) eddy available potential energy is transferred from the planetary-scale stationary eddies to the synoptic-scale transient eddies, (2) eddy kinetic energy is transferred in the opposite direction, and (3) the eddy available potential energy transfer dominates the transfer of eddy kinetic energy. It is concluded that the simple weakly nonlinear model used in these studies does indeed capture much of the fundamental behavior of wave-wave interactions seen in the atmosphere.