THEORETICAL STUDY ON EFFECT OF QINGHAI-XIZANG PLATEAU UPON COLD SURGE^*

Starting from the linear shallow-water wave equations including in themselves the effect of a large-scale orograpny, two types of gravity wave solutions are derived on the assumption that the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau serves as an orography in question inclined from west to east at the same slope. One type contains two solutions of high-frequency inertia-gravitational waves and the other solution of low-frequency topography-excited gravity waves, bearing some similarity to Kelvin mode. Both types are similar, respectively, to the gravity waves of the front of the cold surge during the rapid southward advance, and to the strong velocity center of the surge when it propagates southward slowly along the east brim of the Plateau, as shown by the numerical study.Results indicate that the low-frequency wave vanishes whereas its counterpart remains especially in the absence of the orography. In addition, we find that the propagation of the gravity-wave rays is in the form of a trochoid equation, a result in good agreement with the curved path of the strong velocity center going down the east fringe of the Plateau as shown by the numerical study. And probably a waveguide tube of topographic gravity mode is present in the coastwise area downstream of the orography.