Zonal wavenumber characteristics of Northern Hemisphere transient eddies.

Abstract

The results are compared with theoretical and numerical modeling studies of nonlinear, baroclinic instability. Both the observations and modeling studies produce evidence that baroclinic eddies have a definite life cycle and that the strongest baroclinic eddies are of intermediate size (zonal wavenumbers 6-8). Some interesting differences between observations and modeling results also emerge.-from Authors