Numerical Study on Vortices in the Middle Layer of Flow around a Large Mountain under Rotating Stratified Conditions

Generation of cyclonic vortices in the middle layer of flow around a large mountain like Tibet and Rocky was investigated by means of a 3-D nonhydrostatic meteorological prognostic model. Special attention was paid to the effects of the earth’s rotation and stratification on the vortices detached successively from the slope of a high and large horizontal scale mountain. It was found the successive formation and detachment of such ‘von Karman-like vortices’ occurred in the flow regime at high Rossby numbers Ro and low Froude numbers Fr. It was successfully divided by the criterion of baroclinic instability. This means that if the condition is unstable baroclinically, a lee vortex is destabilized into a three-dimensional one, while under baroclinically stable conditions the lee vortex with vertical axis retains its standing structure and remains long lasting in the middle layer.