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Vortex Forcing of Extratropical Disturbances

Sébastien Dirren

ISBN 978-3-8325-0154-9
210 pages, year of publication: 2003
price: 40.50 €
A common feature of upper-tropospheric flow is the juxtaposition of a localized vortex with the extratropical jet-stream. Interpreted within the potential vorticity (PV) perspective, both correspond to distinctive PV elements (a PV anomaly and a PV-gradient, respectively) that can interact non-locally and modify the global flow evolution of the atmosphere.

The vortex can be related either to a short-time (of order of a few days such as stratospheric or tropospheric intrusions) or a quasi-stationary (e.g. orography, SST, El Niño) forcing. The study of the interaction between jets and vortices may therefore bring insights into both the transient and the low-frequency responses of the atmosphere to disturbances. It has theoretical implications such as the better understandings of the basic mechanisms leading to extratropical cyclone development, but also practical issues in the context of the sensitivity of the atmosphere to localized perturbations.

In the three independent and self-contained parts of this thesis, the interaction between jets and vortices is tackled from different perspectives, considering various idealized and real flow settings.

Keywords:
  • Dynamical Meteorology
  • Physics
  • Extratropical Disturbances
  • Potential Vorticity

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