A study of the baroclinic instability problem and the lower boundary condition
A. Wiin Nielsen · Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres · 1971
The effects of changing the lower boundary condition from a vanishing individual pressure change to a zero vertical velocity have been investigated for the quasi-geostrophic, baroclinic stability problem. The propagation speed of the wave decreases, especially that of long waves. The instability decreases for short and long waves, but increases for an intermediate band of waves. A formal analogy is established between the stability problem formulated with height as the vertical coordinate, bounded above and below by rigid plates, and the stability problem with pressure as vertical coordinate, with suitable boundary conditions at the top and bottom of the atmosphere.