On the Maintenance of the Large-Scale Quasi-Permanent Disturbances in the Atmosphere

Abstract

It is proposed that large-scale quasi-permanent flow systems are maintained against dissipative effects by a transfer of kinetic energy from smaller, cyclone-scale, disturbances which have baroclinic energy sources, the processes involved being non-linear and barotropic. To illustrate how such processes can operate, an example is given based on an idealized flow consisting of a limited number of double-Fourier components.