Abstract
An effective boundary condition is derived for the top of the troposphere, based on a wave radiation condition at the tropopause. This boundary condition, which can be formulated as a pseudodifferential equation, leads to new vertical dissipative modes. These modes can be computed explicitly in the classical setup of a hydrostatic, nonrotating atmosphere with a piecewise constant Brunt-Väisälä frequency. In the limit of an infinitely strongly stratified stratosphere, these modes lose their dissipative nature and become the regular baroclinic tropospheric modes under the rigid-lid approximation. For realistic values of the stratification, the decay time scales of the first few modes for mesoscale disturbances range from an hour to a week, suggesting that the time scale for some atmospheric phenomena may be set up by the rate of energy loss through upward-propagating waves.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 3119-3127 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences |
Volume | 70 |
Issue number | 10 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2013 |
Fingerprint
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Atmospheric Science
Cite this
Leaky rigid lid : New dissipative modes in the troposphere. / Chumakova, Lyubov G.; Rosales, Rodolfo R.; Tabak, Esteban.
In: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, Vol. 70, No. 10, 2013, p. 3119-3127.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Leaky rigid lid
T2 - New dissipative modes in the troposphere
AU - Chumakova, Lyubov G.
AU - Rosales, Rodolfo R.
AU - Tabak, Esteban
PY - 2013
Y1 - 2013
N2 - An effective boundary condition is derived for the top of the troposphere, based on a wave radiation condition at the tropopause. This boundary condition, which can be formulated as a pseudodifferential equation, leads to new vertical dissipative modes. These modes can be computed explicitly in the classical setup of a hydrostatic, nonrotating atmosphere with a piecewise constant Brunt-Väisälä frequency. In the limit of an infinitely strongly stratified stratosphere, these modes lose their dissipative nature and become the regular baroclinic tropospheric modes under the rigid-lid approximation. For realistic values of the stratification, the decay time scales of the first few modes for mesoscale disturbances range from an hour to a week, suggesting that the time scale for some atmospheric phenomena may be set up by the rate of energy loss through upward-propagating waves.
AB - An effective boundary condition is derived for the top of the troposphere, based on a wave radiation condition at the tropopause. This boundary condition, which can be formulated as a pseudodifferential equation, leads to new vertical dissipative modes. These modes can be computed explicitly in the classical setup of a hydrostatic, nonrotating atmosphere with a piecewise constant Brunt-Väisälä frequency. In the limit of an infinitely strongly stratified stratosphere, these modes lose their dissipative nature and become the regular baroclinic tropospheric modes under the rigid-lid approximation. For realistic values of the stratification, the decay time scales of the first few modes for mesoscale disturbances range from an hour to a week, suggesting that the time scale for some atmospheric phenomena may be set up by the rate of energy loss through upward-propagating waves.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84885934642&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84885934642&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1175/JAS-D-12-065.1
DO - 10.1175/JAS-D-12-065.1
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84885934642
VL - 70
SP - 3119
EP - 3127
JO - Journals of the Atmospheric Sciences
JF - Journals of the Atmospheric Sciences
SN - 0022-4928
IS - 10
ER -