Atmospheric waves in the Mediterranean area on the basis of zonal harmonic analysis

ABSTRACT Characteristic features of the atmospheric waves with wavelengths smaller than 3000 km in the Mediterranean area are evaluated on the basis of zonal harmonic analysis of synoptic weather charts. The mean and extreme values of the amplitudes of the waves with wavenumbers from 1 to 5 are presented for the 1000, 850, 700 and 500 mb levels. The spectral distribution of the kinetic energy for the eastward and the northward components of the geostrophic wind for the same levels are computed, as well as the speed of the waves with different wavelengths.