Stability of a potential vorticity front: From quasi-geostrophy to shallow water

Journal of Fluid Mechanics

Volumn 315, Issue , 1996, Pages 65-84

  Boss, E ^a   Paldor, N ^b   Thompson, L ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON   (United States)

^b HEBREW UNIVERSITY OF JERUSALEM   (Israel)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

SHALLOW WATER EQUATIONS; SHEAR FLOW; VORTICITY;

GRAVITY WAVES; MATHEMATICAL MODELS; RESONANCE; SHEAR FLOW; STABILITY; SURFACE WATERS; TEMPERATURE; THERMAL GRADIENTS; WATER WAVES;

AGEOSTROPHY; BAROCLINIC INSTABILITY; QUASIGEOSTROPHY; ROSSBY NUMBER; SHALLOW WATER;

VORTEX FLOW;

EID: 0030131228     PISSN: 00221120     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/S0022112096002339     Document Type: Article

References (26)

1. BARTH, J. A. 1989 Stability of a coastal upwelling front 2. Model results and comparison with observations. J. Geophys. Res. 94, 10857-10883.
2. BARTH, J. A. 1994 Short-wavelength instabilities on coastal jets and fronts. J. Geophys. Res. 99, 16095-16115.
3. BRETHERTON, F. P. 1966a Critical layer instability in baroclinic flows. Q. J. R. Met. Soc. 22, 325-334.
4. BRETHERTON, F. P. 1966b Baroclinic instability and the short wavelength cut-off in terms of potential vorticity. Q. J. R. Met. Soc. 22, 335-345.
5. FORD, R. 1993 Gravity wave generation by vortical flows in a rotating frame. PhD thesis, University of Cambridge.
6. GRIFFITHS, R. W., KILLWORTH, P. D. & STERN, M. E. 1982 Ageostrophic instability of ocean currents. J. Fluid Mech. 117, 343-377 (referred to herein as GKS).
7. GRIFFITHS, R. W. & LINDEN, P. F. 1982 Laboratory experiments on fronts. Geophys. Astrophys. Fluid Dyn. 19, 159-187.
8. HALL, M. M. & FOFONOFF, N. P. 1993 Downstream development of the Gulf Stream from 68 degrees to 55 degrees W. J. Phys. Oceanogr. 23, 225-249.
9. HAYASHI, Y. Y. & YOUNG, W. R. 1987 Stable and unstable shear modes of rotating parallel flows in shallow water. J. Fluid Mech. 184, 477-504.
10. KAMKE, E. 1951 Differentialgleichungen Lösungsmethoden und Lösungen. Akademische Verlagsge-sellschaft.
11. KILLWORTH, P. D. 1983 Long-wave instability of an isolated front. Geophys. Astrophys. Fluid Dyn. 25, 235-258.
12. KILLWORTH, P. D., PALDOR, N. & STERN, M. E. 1984 Wave propagation and growth on a surface front in a two-layer geostrophic current. J. Mar. Res. 42, 761-785 (referred to herein as KPS).
13. MEACHAM, S. P. 1991 Meander evolution on piecewise-uniform, quasi-geostrophic jets. J. Phys. Oceanogr. 21, 1139-1170.
14. NAKAMURA, N. 1988 The scale selection of baroclinic instability - effect of stratification and non-geostrophy. J. Atmos. Sci. 45, 3253-3267.
15. NAKAMURA, N. 1993 An illustrative model of instabilities in meridionally and vertically sheared flows. J. Atmos. Sci. 50, 357-375.
16. PALDOR, N. 1983 Linear stability and stable modes of geostrophic fronts. Geophys. Astrophys. Fluid Dyn. 24, 299-326.
17. PALDOR, N. & GHIL, M. 1991 Shortwave instabilities of coastal currents. Geophys. Astrophys. Fluid Dyn. 58, 225-241.
18. PEDLOSKY, J. 1987 Geophysical Fluid Dynamics. Springer.
19. PRATT, L. J. & STERN, M. E. 1986 Dynamics of potential vorticity fronts and eddy detachment. J. Phys. Oceanogr. 16, 1101-1120.
20. RIPA, P. 1983 General stability conditions for zonal flows in a one-layer model on the β-plane or the sphere. J. Fluid Mech. 126, 463-489.
21. SAKAI, S. 1988 Rossby-Kelvin instability: a new type of ageostrophic instability caused by a resonance between Rossby waves and gravity waves. J. Fluid Mech. 202, 149-176.
22. STONE, P. 1970 On non-geostrophic baroclinic stability: part II. J. Atmos. Sci. 27, 721-726.
23. SWATERS, G. E. 1991 On the baroclinic instability of cold-core coupled density fronts on a sloping continental shelf. J. Fluid Mech. 224, 361-382.
24. TRACEY , K. L. & WATTS, D. R. 1986 On Gulf stream meander characteristics near Cape Hatteras. J. Geophys. Res. 91, 7587-7602.
25. WATTS, D. R. & JOHNS, W. E. 1982 Gulf stream meanders: Observations on propagation and growth. J. Geophys. Res. 87, 9467-9476.
26. WILLIAMS, R. 1991 Primitive equation models of Gulf stream meanders. Woods Hole Ocean. Inst. Tech. Rep. WHOI-92-16, pp. 272-285.