Articles | Volume 7, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-7-1073-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-7-1073-2026
Research article
 | 
01 Jul 2026
Research article |  | 01 Jul 2026

Revisiting barotropic instability from the perspective of wave evolution theory

Yaokun Li

Cited articles

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Ali, S. M., Röthlisberger, M., Parker, T., Kornhuber, K., and Martius, O.: Recurrent Rossby waves and south-eastern Australian heatwaves, Weather Clim. Dynam., 3, 1139–1156, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-3-1139-2022, 2022. 
Boyd, J.: The continuous spectrum of linear Couette flow with the beta effect, J. Atmos. Sci., 40, 2304–2308, 1983. 
Boyd, J. P.: Nonmodal Instability, in: Dynamics of the Equatorial Ocean, edited by: Boyd, J. P., Springer Berlin Heidelberg, Berlin, Heidelberg, 311–327, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-55476-0_15, 2018. 
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Short summary
This work offers a novel theoretical perspective on classical barotropic instability by integrating modal and nonmodal instabilities within a unified diagnostic framework that emphasizes energy and amplitude variations along propagating wave packets.
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