Mountain torque and external forcing

Theoretical research and numerical modelling show that, although mountain torque owes its existence to the unevenness of the ground surface, its sign and intensity depend strongly upon the relative disposition be-tween mechanical and thermal forcing. The strong annual variations of mountain torque in the northern subtropics revealed by Yeh and Zhu (1958) are attributed to the different thermal features of Tibetan Plateau between winter and summer.