Frontogenesis over a mountain ridge

Abstract

The interaction of developing two-dimensional cold and warm frontal systems with a mesoscale mountain ridge is examined. The flow of the rotating model atmosphere is assumed to be inviscid, adiabatic, and Boussinesq. The geostrophic momentum approximation is made. An imposed horizontal deformation field forces the frontogenesis. The nonlinear model equations are solved numerically in physical space using terrain-following coordinates which incorporate the fully nonlinear, lower boundary condition. Comparison of the model results with and without topography enables assessment of the impact of the mountain on the frontogenesis. -from Authors