Nonlinear Processes in Geophysics www.nonlin-processes-geophys.net 1023-5809 1607-7946 8 1/2 2001 10.5194/npg-8-1-2001 http://www.nonlin-processes-geophys.net/8/1/2001/ http://www.nonlin-processes-geophys.net/8/1/2001/npg-8-1-2001.html http://www.nonlin-processes-geophys.net/8/1/2001/npg-8-1-2001.pdf 1 7 0000-00-00 Some estimates on the space scales of vortex pairs emitted from river mouths V. P. Goncharov V. I. Pavlov Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, 109017 Moscow, Russia DMF, UFR de Mathématiques Pures et Appliquées, Université de Lille 1, 59655 Villeneuve d’Ascq Cedex, France Two-dimensional vortex pairs are frequently observed in geophysical conditions, for example, in a shelf zone of the ocean near river mouths. The main aims of the work are to estimate the space scales of such vortex structures, to analyze possible scenarios of vortex pair motion and to give the qualitative classification of their trajectories. We discuss some features of the motion of strong localized vorticity concentrations in a given flow in the presence of boundaries. The analyses are made in the framework of a 2<i>D</i> point vortex mo-del with an open polygonal boundary. Estimations are made for the characteristic parameters of dipole vortex structures emitted from river mouths into the open ocean.