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Baroclinic instability of quasi-geostrophic flows localized in a thin layer
journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-16, 07:39 authored by Benilov, ESThis paper examines the baroclinic instability of a quasi-geostrophic flow with vertical shear in a continuously stratified fluid. The flow and density stratification are both localized in a thin upper layer. (i) Disturbances whose wavelength is much smaller than the deformation radius (based on the depth of the upper layer) are demonstrated to satisfy an ‘equivalent two-layer model’ with properly chosen parameters. (ii) For disturbances whose wavelength is of the order of, or greater than, the deformation radius we derive a sufficient stability criterion. The above analysis is applied to the subtropical and subarctic frontal currents in the Northern Pacific. The effective time of growth of disturbances (i) is found to be 16–22 days, the characteristic spatial scale is 130–150 km. © 1995, Cambridge University Press. All rights reserved.
History
Publication title
Journal of Fluid MechanicsVolume
288Pagination
175-199ISSN
0022-1120Department/School
School of Natural SciencesPublisher
Cambridge Univ PressPlace of publication
CambridgeRepository Status
- Restricted