Three-dimensional mesoscale dipole frontal collisions

Abstract

Frontal collisions of mesoscale baroclinic dipoles are numerically investigated using a three-dimensional, Boussinesq, and f-plane numerical model that explicitly conserves potential vorticity on isopycnals. The initial conditions, obtained using the potential vorticity initialization approach, consist of twin baroclinic dipoles, balanced (void of waves) and static and inertially stable, moving in opposite directions. The dipoles may collide in a close-to-axial way (cyclone–anticyclone collisions) or nonaxially (cyclone–cyclone or anticyclone–anticyclone collisions). The results show that the interacting vortices may bounce back and interchange partners, may merge reaching a tripole state, or may squeeze between the outer vortices. The formation of a stable tripole from two colliding dipoles is possible but is dependent on diffusion effects. It is found that the nonaxial dipole collisions can be characterized by the interchange between the domain-averaged potential and kinetic energy. Dipole collisions in two-dimensional flow display also a variety of vortex interactions, qualitatively similar to the three-dimensional cases