Interference of lee waves over mountain ranges

Abstract

Internal waves in the atmosphere and ocean are generated frequently from the interaction of mean flow with bottom obstacles such as mountains and submarine ridges. Analysis of these environmental phenomena involves theoretical models of non-homogeneous fluid affected by the gravity. In this paper, a semi-analytical model of stratified flow over the mountain range is considered under the assumption of small amplitude of the topography. Attention is focused on stationary wave patterns forced above the rough terrain. Adapted to account for such terrain, model equations involves exact topographic condition settled on the uneven ground surface. Wave solutions corresponding to sinusoidal topography with a finite number of peaks are calculated and examined. © 2011 Author(s).