Catastrophic Breakdown of Barotropic Vortices

Smyth/Abstract ATM-9616766我建议研究层状旋转环境中正压环状涡旋性质的稳定性。这项工作将把Gent&Amp；McWilliams(1986)的结果推广到准地转区域之外。我将记录准地转区中的尺度选择性不稳定性和非地转区的非地转区向湍流的转换，这是非层化、非旋转情况的特征。将寻求一些涡流稳定性的特征。拟议的项目规模不大，但应能为地球物理流体动力学领域提供有用的信息，特别是有关飓风和热带气旋演化的信息。

Smyth/Abstract ATM-9616766 I propose to investigate the stability of properties of barotropic, cirucular vortices in a stratified, rotating environment. This work will extend the results of Gent & McWilliams (1986) beyond the quasigeostrophic regime. I will document the transition between scale-selective instability in the quasigeostrophic regime and the castastrophic transitions to turbulence which characterizes the unstratified, non-rotating case. A number of vortex stability characteristics will be sought. THe proposed project is modest in scale, but should provide useful information to the geophysical fluid dynamics community, particularly with reference to the evolution of hurricanes and tropical cyclones.