Baroclinic Waves Propagating From A High‐Latitude Source

• Published in: Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society
• Main Authors: Watterson, I. G., James, I. N.
• Other Authors: British Antarctic Survey-Natural Environment Research Council
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 1992
• Subjects: Antarctic; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/qj.49711850303; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Fqj.49711850303; https://rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/qj.49711850303

Abstract A time‐dependent primitive‐equation model of the southern hemisphere winter troposphere with an idealized dome‐shaped continent centred at 80°S has been used to assess the potential of Antarctica to force stationary waves and to determine the location of the mid‐latitude baroclinic storm track. Several integrations of the model for two hundred days were made with the zonal‐mean fields fixed at the climatological values. In the time mean of each run an anticyclonic wave response formed over the mountain and a planetary wave propagated into the mid latitudes with substantial amplitude. This suggests that much of the observed stationary asymmetry in the southern, mid and high latitudes may be due to Antarctica. The response to the Antarctic forcing was different in a steady, linear version of the model. However, interaction between the steady waves appears to be of minor importance to the time‐mean pattern. Rather, E‐vector fields point to a substantial effect of the transients on the pattern. In particular, the low‐frequency transients appear to be important in the balance of the time‐mean equations near the mountain.