Mars: The Effects of Topography on Baroclinic Instability

Abstract

The effects of a sloping lower boundary on the quasi-geostrophic baroclinic instability model of Eady are considered. Although the analytical model is too simplified for direct application to Martian conditions, the results should be useful in the interpretation of observations and numerical experiments. For slope orientations of most interest on Mars, the wavelength, growth rate and heat fluxes associated with the most unstable waves are decreased. As a result, the radiative-dynamical equilibrium state is closer to radiative equilibrium than one would calculate for a model with a horizontal lower boundary.