Numerical simulation of baroclinic Jovian vortices

We examine the evolution of baroclinic vortices in a time-dependent, nonlinear numerical model of a Jovian atmosphere. The model uses a normal-mode expansion in the vertical, using the barotropic and first two baroclinic modes. Results for the stability of baroclinic vortices on an f plane in the absence of a mean zonal flow are similar to results of Earth vortex models, although the presence of a fluid interior on the Jovian planets shifts the stability boundaries to smaller length scales. The presence of a barotropic mean zonal flow in the interior stabilizes vortices against instability and significantly modifies the finite amplitude form of baroclinic instabilities. The effect of a zonal flow on a form of barotropic instability produces periodic oscillations in the latitude and longitude of the vortex as observed at the level of the cloud tops. This instability may explain some, but not all, observations of longitudinal oscillations of vortices on the outer planets. Oscillations in aspect ratio and orientation of stable vortices in a zonal shear flow are observed in this baroclinic model, as in simpler two-dimensional models. Such oscillations are also observed in the atmospheres of Jupiter and Neptune. The meridional propagation and decay of vortices on a beta plane is inhibited by the presence of a mean zonal flow. The direction of propagation of a vortex relative to the mean zonal flow depends upon the sign of the meridional potential vorticity gradient; combined with observations of vortex drift rates, this may provide a constraint on model assumption for the flow in the deep interior of the Jovian planets.