Role of the Rossby waves in the broadening of an eastward jet

Abstract

To investigate the effect of the Rossby waves on an eastward jet such as the Kuroshio or Gulf Stream Extensions, a series of numerical experiments is conducted using a primitive equation model. In these experiments, an inflow and an outflow imposed on the western and eastern boundaries drive an unstable narrow jet and a broad interior flow in the western and eastern regions of the model domain, respectively. The barotropic Rossby waves are radiated from the transient region between the two regions. The eddy potential vorticity flux by the waves tends to compensate for the difference in the mean potential vorticity along mean streamlines between both sides of the transient region. Instability of the jet is insufficient for this compensation and weakens the mean potential vorticity gradient too much. Moreover, as the potential vorticity of the outflow is increased, the Rossby waves are intensified in order to compensate for the increase in the difference in the mean potential vorticity. These features strongly suggest that the Rossby waves are substantial in matching a jet with an interior flow. The speed of the waves and properties of eddies in recirculations of the jet are consistent with a two-layer analytic model, which indicates that the Rossby waves are radiated from eddies in recirculations. These eddies as well as the Rossby waves increase in amplitude with the transport of the recirculation near the surface presumably because of mean advection. Therefore, the mean potential vorticity of the interior flow, the intensity of the Rossby waves, and the transport of the recirculation change consistently with one another. © 2012 American Meteorological Society.