Table of Contents
What is barotropic instability?
Barotropic instability is a wave instability associated with the horizontal shear in a jet-like current. Barotropic instabilities grow by extracting kinetic energy from the mean-flow field. Baroclinic instability, however, is associated with vertical shear of the mean flow.
What is a baroclinic atmosphere associated with?
An atmospheric state in which density depends upon both temperature and pressure and in which the geostrophic wind varies with height and is related to the horizontal temperature gradient via the thermal wind equation.
What is the difference between baroclinic and barotropic?
In meteorology a baroclinic flow is one in which the density depends on both temperature and pressure (the fully general case). A simpler case, barotropic flow, allows for density dependence only on pressure, so that the curl of the pressure-gradient force vanishes.
What is a baroclinic zone?
Baroclinic Zone A region in which a temperature gradient exists on a constant pressure surface. Baroclinic zones are favored areas for strengthening and weakening systems; barotropic systems, on the other hand, do not exhibit significant changes in intensity. Also, wind shear is characteristic of a baroclinic zone.
What is baroclinic waves?
Baroclinic waves are one of a number of types of weather systems that develop spontaneously in response to instabilities in the large-scale flow pattern in which they are embedded. The low level flow in baroclinic waves is dominated by extratropical cyclones, an example of which is shown in Fig. 1.12.
What is barotropic and baroclinic condition?
How do you find the baroclinic zone?
The high gradient of equivalent potential temperature at mid levels indicates the baroclinic zone of the boundary between both air masses.
What is barotropic condition?
A barotropic flow is a generalization of a barotropic atmosphere. It is a flow in which the pressure is a function of the density only and vice versa. In other words, it is a flow in which isobaric surfaces are isopycnic surfaces and vice versa.
What is difference between baroclinic and barotropic?
What is baroclinicity in meteorology?
In fluid dynamics, the baroclinity (often called baroclinicity) of a stratified fluid is a measure of how misaligned the gradient of pressure is from the gradient of density in a fluid. In meteorology a baroclinic flow is one in which the density depends on both temperature and pressure (the fully general case).
Is there wind shear in baroclinic instability?
In this process, called baroclinic instability, potential energy is converted into kinetic energy—which occurs as wind—as warm, light air rises and cold, heavy air sinks. Since baroclinic instability is associated with horizontal temperature gradients, according to the thermal wind relation (3), there must be vertical wind shear.
What is baroclinic instability?
Baroclinic instability is understood to be the dynamic cause for synoptic-scale, midlatitude storms. It is the result of a vertical shear in the basic-state zonal wind.
What is the source of energy for baroclinic instability?
The energy source for baroclinic instability is the potential energy in the environmental flow. As the instability grows, the center of mass of the fluid is lowered. In growing waves in the atmosphere, cold air moving downwards and equatorwards displaces the warmer air moving polewards and upwards.