Abstract: The instability of circular vortices is studied numerically in the surface quasigeostrophic (SQG) model, and their evolutions are compared with those of barotropically unstable 2D vortices. The growth rates in the SQG model ...

Abstract: A process study is conducted on the evolution of boundary currents in a two-layer quasigeostrophic model on the f plane. These currents are composed of two strips of uniform potential vorticity (PV), one in each layer, and ...

Abstract: The Phillips problem of baroclinic instability is generalized in a frontal geostrophic model. The configuration used here is a two-layer flow (with quasigeostrophic upper-layer current) over a sloping bottom. Baroclinic ...

Abstract: he stability characteristics of the surface quasigeostrophic shielded Rankine vortex are found using a linearized contour dynamics model. Both the normal modes and nonmodal evolution of the system are analyzed and the ...

Abstract: A meddy was discovered in April 1997 off the northwestern corner of Spain, near 45°N, 11°30?W. It was tracked during 18 months with Lagrangian floats and deep drogued buoys, and several cruises were set to collect further ...