Trapped Lee Wave Interference in the Presence of Surface Friction

Abstract

Abstract Trapped lee wave interference over double bell-shaped obstacles in the presence of surface friction is examined. Idealized high-resolution numerical experiments with the nonhydrostatic Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Mesoscale Prediction System (COAMPS) are performed to examine the influence of a frictional boundary layer and nonlinearity on wave interference and the impact of interference on wave-induced boundary layer separation and the formation of rotors. The appearance of constructive and destructive interference, controlled by the ratio of the ridge separation distance to the intrinsic horizontal wavelength of lee waves, is found to be predicted well by linear interference theory with orographic adjustment. The friction-induced shortening of intrinsic wavelength displays a strong indirect effect on wave interference. For twin peak orography, the interference-induced variation of wave amplitude is smaller than that predicted by linear theory. The interference is found to affect the formation and strength of rotors most significantly in the lee of the downstream peak; destructive interference suppresses the formation and strength of rotors there, whereas results for constructive interference closely parallel those for a single mountain. Over the valley, under both constructive and destructive interference, rotors are weaker compared to those in the lee of a single ridge while their strength saturates in the finite-amplitude flow regime. Destructive interference is found to be more susceptible to nonlinear effects, with both the orographic adjustment and surface friction displaying a stronger effect on the flow in this state. “Complete” destructive interference, in which waves almost completely cancel out in the lee of the downstream ridge, develops for certain ridge separation distances but only for a downstream ridge smaller than the upstream one.