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Asymmetries in vertical vorticity and vertical velocity arising during nonlinear homogeneous spindown
Citation
Benthuysen, JA and Thomas, LN, Asymmetries in vertical vorticity and vertical velocity arising during nonlinear homogeneous spindown, Physics of Fluids, 24, (7) Article 076601. ISSN 1070-6631 (2012) [Refereed Article]
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Copyright Statement
Copyright 2012 American Institute of Physics
Abstract
During the spindown of a unidirectional, geostrophic current in a homogeneous fluid, asymmetry arises in the vertical velocity and vertical relative vorticity fields. A closed-form, time-dependent solution valid to order Rossby number is derived to explore these asymmetries. Momentum advection in the interior and the Ekman layer leads to competing tendencies in the vertical vorticity's evolution. In the interior, momentum advection hastens spindown in cyclonic regions. In the Ekman layer, momentum advection weakens Ekman pumping over Ekman suction and thus tends to slow the spindown of cyclonic vorticity. It is shown that the former effect dominates, and hence cyclonic vorticity decays faster than anticyclonic vorticity.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | vortex dynamics, rotating flows, cyclones, kinematics, planetary boundary layers |
| Research Division: | Earth Sciences |
| Research Group: | Oceanography |
| Research Field: | Physical oceanography |
| Objective Division: | Environmental Management |
| Objective Group: | Marine systems and management |
| Objective Field: | Oceanic processes (excl. in the Antarctic and Southern Ocean) |
| UTAS Author: | Benthuysen, JA (Dr Jessica Benthuysen) |
| ID Code: | 118999 |
| Year Published: | 2012 |
| Web of Science® Times Cited: | 5 |
| Deposited By: | Oceans and Cryosphere |
| Deposited On: | 2017-07-25 |
| Last Modified: | 2017-08-29 |
| Downloads: | 132 View Download Statistics |
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