On the origin of upper tropospheric cyclonic vortices in the South Atlantic ocean and adjoining Brazil during the summer

Summary The origin of upper tropospheric cyclonic vortices over the South Atlantic and adjoining Brazil is discussed. Calculations of the barotropic energy exchange term based on observations indicated that in the mean, and during some days, zonal kinetic energy gets converted into eddy kinetic energy. This suggests the occurrence of barotropic instability. Examination of zonal winds for barotropic instability, however, revealed weak growth rates. Thus other mechanisms such as condensation heating, the formation of cyclonic centers downstream of the Bolivian high, and middle latitude coupling might also be important.With 3 Figures