Frontal wave stability during moist deformation frontogenesis. Part II: the suppression of nonlinear wave development

Abstract

For the linear model described in Part I, a simple relationship between optimal wave slope amplification over a specified time period and the amplification of an initially isolated edge wave is found. Using this relationship, the mechanisms by which strain affects the dependence of optimal wave slope amplification on wavelength and the time of entry of disturbances to the front are investigated. It is found that waves entering the frontal zone when it is intense can experience greater steepening than those appearing earlier in the development of the front. The most rapidly growing waves enter the front with a wavelength about three times the width of the front. As the front collapses, the ra..