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| Titel |
Baroclinic waves in the rotating annulus: a laboratory/model comparison |
| VerfasserIn |
P. D. Williams, P. L. Read, T. W. N. Haine |
| Konferenz |
EGU General Assembly 2009
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| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
Englisch
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| Digitales Dokument |
PDF |
| Erschienen |
In: GRA - Volume 11 (2009) |
| Datensatznummer |
250019270
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| Zusammenfassung |
| We compare laboratory observations of baroclinic waves in a rotating two-layer annulus
experiment, with simulations from a fast numerical model named QUAGMIRE
(QUAsi-Geostrophic Model for Investigating Rotating fluids Experiments). Unlike other
quasi-geostrophic models, which approximate the annulus as a periodic rectangular channel,
QUAGMIRE retains the effects of cylindrical geometry. The model generally reproduces
the laboratory results very well, apart from several systematic biases which are
well-understood consequences of the model’s misrepresentation of boundary layers and
neglect of surface tension. We conclude that quasi-geostrophic dynamics provides a
reasonably accurate description of the laboratory flow. This statement holds even though
the laboratory flow lies well outside the quasi-geostrophic regime, and adds to the
evidence that quasi-geostrophy may continue to apply well outside its formal bounds. |
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