Resonance induced by Rossby Lee waves

Abstract

The mutual interaction of fields induced by spatially separated potential vorticity sources in a quasi-geostrophic barotropic flow is investigated using the weakly nonlinear approach. It is found that a powerful nonlinear response can be triggered by Rossby lee waves. This resonance phenomenon which dominates all other nonlinear corrections depends on certain global resonance conditions and on the change in the phase of the Rossby lee wave across the distance separating the sources. The response is particularly strong for topographic forcing possessing δ-function characterisitics.