A Linear Stability Analysis of the Rapid Development of an Extratropical Cyclone.

Abstract

The phenomenon of the rapid growth and development of an extratropical cyclone over the east coast of the United States (the Carolinas storm of March 1984) is studied through a linear stability analysis. Analyses of the cyclone structure suggest barotropic and baroclinic instabilities may be important. A linear stability model is used to investigate the roles and relative importance of shortwave baroclinic instability and barotropic instability in the growth and development of the storm. The growth rates, phase speeds and structure obtained from the linear model are consistent with those derived from observations. Energy budget results indicate that the vertical and horizontal barotropic terms are at least as important as the baroclinic term. It appears that the early growth and development of the cyclone can be explained through the contributions of barotropic and baroclinic instabilities without including convection. Keywords: Linear stability analysis; Baroclinic and barotropic instabilities explain behavior of one cyclone; Theses.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 01, 1986
Accession Number
ADA167808

Entities

People

  • Raymond F. Toll Jr

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Atmospheric Motion
  • Boundary Layer
  • Case Studies
  • Climate Change
  • Energy Conversion
  • Energy Transfer
  • Geography
  • Geostrophic Wind
  • Gravity Waves
  • Isotherms
  • Meteorology
  • New York
  • Oceanography
  • Oceans
  • Potential Energy
  • Richardson Number
  • Wind Shear

Readers

  • Atmospheric Science/Meteorology
  • Control Systems Engineering.