Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Mountain Waves

1986; American Meteorological Society; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1007/978-1-935704-20-1_20

Dale R. Durran,

Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism Studies

The basic flow pattern across a long ridge of mountains is determined by the mountain width. If the ridge is wide enough that the time required for air to cross it is greater than order 1/f (where f is the Coriolis parameter), rotational effects generate a disturbance with large displacements in the horizontal x-y plane. As the width decreases to less than 100 km, the perturbations in the horizontal plane disappear and waves in the vertical x-z plane develop. When the wind blows over such a ridge, air parcels are displaced vertically and, if the atmosphere is stably stratified, they descend and may oscillate about their equilibrium levels. The gravity waves that result, called mountain waves or lee waves, have been observed in mountainous regions all over the world.