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Analysis of solitary disturbances over an Antarctic Ice Shelf

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Abstract

Large amplitude, propagating, solitary disturbances have been observed in the atmospheric boundary layer over a gently sloping Antarctic Ice Shelf. The waves are usually trapped within the lowest 40 m and are observed only when the surface layer is strongly stably stratified and prevailing wind speeds are low. It is shown that the waves are trapped due to the combined effects of velocity curvature and stratification. The observed wavelengths can be bounded using simple heuristic arguments based on the Scorer parameter. Properties of the waves are compared with results from the weakly nonlinear numerical model of Rottman and Einaudi (1993).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mathematics and Statistics, Applied Mathematics Section, University of Sheffield, S10 2UN, Sheffield, UK

    Julia M. Rees

  2. NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Universities Space Research Association, 20771, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA

    James W. Rottman

Authors
  1. Julia M. Rees
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  2. James W. Rottman
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Rees, J.M., Rottman, J.W. Analysis of solitary disturbances over an Antarctic Ice Shelf. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 69, 285–310 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00708859

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00708859

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