Zonal jets in equilibrating baroclinic instability on the polar beta‐plane: Experiments with altimetry

Abstract Results from the laboratory experiments on the evolution of baroclinically unstable flows generated in a rotating tank with topographic β‐effect are presented. We study zonal jets of alternating direction which occur in these flows. The primary system we model includes lighter fluid in the South and heavier fluid in the North with resulting slow meridional circulation and fast mean zonal motion. In a two‐layer system, the velocity shear between the layers results in baroclinic instability which equilibrates with time and, due to interaction with β‐effect generates zonal jets. This system is archetypal for various geophysical systems including the general circulation and jet streams in the Earth's atmosphere, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, or the areas in the vicinity of western boundary currents where baroclinic instability and multiple zonal jets are observed. The gradient of the surface elevation and the thickness of the upper layer are measured in the experiments using the Altimetric Imaging Velocimetry and the Optical Thickness Velocimetry techniques, respectively. Barotropic and baroclinic velocity fields are then derived from the measured quantities. The results demonstrate that the zonal jets are driven by “eddy forcing” due to continuously created baroclinic perturbations. The flow is baroclinic to a significant degree and the jets are “surface intensified.” The meridional wavelength of the jets varies linearly with the baroclinic radius of deformation and is also in a good agreement with a modified Rhines scale. This suggests a linear dependence of the perturbation velocity in the equilibrated baroclinically unstable flow on the β‐parameter.