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Article: Low-Frequency Variability in the Midlatitude Baroclinic Atmosphere Induced by an Oceanic Thermal Front
- Article from:
- Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences
- Article date:
- January 1, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright American Meteorological Society Jan 2007. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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ABSTRACT
This study examines the flow induced by an east-west-oriented oceanic thermal front in a highly idealized baroclinic model. Previous work showed that thermal fronts could produce energetic midlatitude jets in an equivalent-barotropic atmosphere and that barotropic instabilities of this jet had dominant periods of 25-30 and 65-75 days.
The present study extends this work to a two-mode baroclinic free atmosphere. The baroclinic jet produced in this case is subject to both barotropic and baroclinic instabilities. A barotropic symmetric instability propagates westward with periods of roughly 30 days and is similar to those found in the equivalent-barotropic model. A baroclinic ...