Comparison of a barotropic blocking theory with observation.

Abstract

In an effort to explain observed blocking phenomena, the work of Charney and DeVore (1979) and Hart (1979) has been extended to incorporate observed zonal topography in a barotropic nonlinear channel model. Multiple stationary equilibria are obtained, 1 of which, for an appropriate forcing, corresponds exactly to the 'normal' winter flow predicted by Charney and Eliassen (1949) from the linearized version of the model. -from Authors