The relationship between the vertical motion at the top of the friction layer and the geostrophic vorticity as a function of the Rossby number.
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Authors
Hoffman, Carl Walter.
Subjects
boundary layer
divergence
Ekman spiral
Rossby number
vorticity
divergence
Ekman spiral
Rossby number
vorticity
Advisors
Williams, Roger T.
Date of Issue
1972-03
Date
March 1972
Publisher
Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School
Language
en_US
Abstract
The relationship between vertical motion at the top of the boundary
layer, geostrophic vorticity in the boundary layer and divergence in the
boundary layer are examined in this study. The equation of motion and
the continuity equation are applied to a homogeneous barotropic atmosphere
using a numerical model in this study. The solutions reveal that
the boundary layer is stable for very large values of Ro in the case of
positive vorticity and becomes unstable at Ro = 1 .0 in the case of negative
vorticity. A difference in behavior is found between cases of
anticyclonic and cyclonic shear. The magnitude of the vertical velocity
is greater and the boundary is thicker for anticyclonic than for cyclonic
shear systems of equivalent strength.
Type
Thesis
Description
Series/Report No
Department
Meteorology
Organization
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funding
Format
Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.