• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.344-355
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• 2020

Tropical cyclone scale vortices and associated Rossby waves were investigated numerically using high-resolution barotropic models on the global domain. The equations of the barotropic model were discretized using the spectral transform method with the spherical harmonics function as orthogonal basis. The initial condition of the vortex was specified as an axisymmetric flow in the gradient wind balance, and four types of basic zonal states were employed. Vortex tracks showed similar patterns as those on the beta-plane but exhibited more eastward displacement as they moved northward. The zonal-mean flow appeared to control not only the west-east translation but also the meridional translation of the vortex. Such a meridional influence was revealed to be associated with the beta gyre and the Rossby wave, which are formed around the vortex due to the beta effect. In the case of the basic zonal state of climatological mean, the meridional translation speed reached the maximum value when the vortex underwent recurving.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.189-194
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• 2013

In this study, the patterns of barotropic vortices and their structural rotation were investigated through laboratory experiments. Both stable and unstable barotropic vortices were formed in a rotating water tank with a rotating circular plate depending on the diameter, direction, and speed of rotating circular plate. The patterns of stable vortices turned out to be tripolar, triangular, rectangular, and monopolar vortex. These vortex patterns were affected by the gap between the circular plate and the wall of the water tank. Many unstable vortices were formed by anticyclonically and highly rotating circular plate. These results were caused by the centrifugal instability. The structural angular velocity of the tripolar vortex increased with the tangential velocity of the circular plate. The anticyclonic tripolar vortex had higher structural angular velocity than the cyclonic vortex. The tripolar vortex in the water tank was very similar with the real oceanic tripolar vortex from the view point of the Rossby number and the structural rotation.