Roll Vortices in the Boundary Layer Caused by a Concave Wind Profile: A Theoretical Study

The present study solves a two-layer atmospheric wave equation model with a lower atmosphere concave wind profile and cold-air outbreak over sea, while simultaneously proving that such a wind shear may cause neutral boundary layer roll vortices in the presence of disturbing sources upstream. Without thermal effects, the wind shear-induced waves have band structures at the top of the boundary layer that are similar to cloud street patterns observed over sea. This study proves that dynamic and thermal effects can act independently to initiate the roll vortices in the lower atmosphere. At the same time, a quantitative comparison shows that dynamic effects play a large role in the formation of roll vortices in the initial stage of cold-air outbreak and will be surpassed by thermal effects soon after surface heating commences.