On the instability of some upward propagating, exact, nonlinear mountain waves

Abstract

Using the short-wavelength instability method, we investigate the linear instability of an exact solution describing upward-propagating mountain waves, derived in A. Constantin, \emph{J. Phys. A: Math. Theor.} (2023), under the assumption of a dry adiabatic flow. Within this approach, the stability problem reduces to analysing a system of ordinary differential equations along fluid trajectories. Our results show that the flow becomes unstable when the wave steepness exceeds the critical threshold of $\frac{1}{3}$. Given the representation of the solution in Lagrangian coordinates, the instability analysis will show the existence of an unstable layer beneath the tropopause, where instability may occur, finally leading to a chaotic 3-dimensional fluid motion.