Mesoscale mountains and the larger-scale atmospheric dynamics: A review

摘要: Abstract Mountains play an important role in shaping the general circulation of atmosphere and affecting amplitude location northern hemisphere midlatitude storm tracks. Here a review is provided mesoscale orographic processes that can affect larger-scale circulation. An analysis mountain-airflow regimes demonstrates much earth's topography too steep to allow for direct application balanced dynamics. Thus airflow-mountain interaction mostly on mesoscale. Large-scale effects may, however, result if balanced-flow anomalies—such as surface thermal anomaly and/or internal potential vorticity (PV) anomalies—are generated by processes. These ingredients represent conceptual intermediary between (unbalanced) dynamics, their subsequent (balanced) with synoptic-scale environment. The formation flow anomalies dynamical reviewed. Particular attention devoted temperature retardation cold-air advection, generation PV friction, gravity-wave breaking, separation. For illustration, consideration will be given observations numerical simulations Alpine wake.