Bounds on the phase speed and growth rate of barotropic–baroclinic instability problem

Abstract

We consider the barotropic–baroclinic instability problem for zonal flows on the β-plane satisfying the boundary conditions ∂U/ ∂z=0 at z=0, z T . First, we obtain a new estimate for the growth rate of any unstable normal mode. Then, we prove the boundedness of the wave velocity of non-singular neutral modes. Finally, we obtain parabolic instability regions, which improve Pedlosky’s instability region for two classes of flows.