Scale selection of baroclinic instability - effects of stratification and nongeostrophy

Abstract

Both short (mesoscale) waves trapped in the lower layer with a small static stability and long waves extending throughout the column are unstable. The integral constraints imply that the vertical structure of the stratification can provide an "internal lid' to confine the wave into the mixed layer. Nongeostrophic effects become important as Richardson number decreases; the scale of the most unstable Eady's mode becomes sensitive to the change of shear, unlike the geostrophic case. -from Author