Linear and nonlinear Rossby waves in basins both with and without a thin meridional barrier
Citable URI
https://hdl.handle.net/1912/2757DOI
10.1575/1912/2757Keyword
Rossby wavesAbstract
The linear and nonlinear Rossby wave solutions are examined in homogeneous square
basins on the ß-plane both with and without a thin meridional barrier In the presence
of the meridional barrier the basin is almost partitioned into two; only two small gaps
of equal width, d, to the north and south of the barrier allow communication between
the eastern.and western sub-basins.
Solutions are forced by a steady periodic wind forcing applied over a meridional
strip near the eastern side. Bottom friction is present to allow the solutions to reach
equilibrium. The linear solution for the basin containing the barrier is determined
analytically and the nonlinear solutions for both basins are found numerically.
In the linear solution with the barrier present, particular attention was paid to the
resonant solutions. We examined the effects of varying the symmetry of the forcing
about the mid-latitude, the frequency of the periodic forcing and the strength of the
bottom friction. For each solution we focus on how the no net circulation condition,
which is central to any solution in a barrier basin, is satisfied.
The nonlinear solutions were studied for both basin configurations. In each case
the transition from the weakly nonlinear solution to the turbulent solution was examined,
as the forcing frequency and forcing strength were varied. Only integer multiples
of the forcing frequency are present in the weakly nonlinear solutions. The turbulent
solutions were accompanied by the appearance of many other frequencies whose exact
origins are unknown, but are probably the result of instabilities.
A hysteresis was found for the turbulent solutions of both the barrier-free and
barrier basins.
In the weakly nonlinear solutions of the barrier basin it was predicted and confirmed
that there is never a steady net flow from sub-basin to sub-basin. It was also
shown that with a symmetric forcing all modes oscillating with an odd multiple of
the forcing frequency are symmetric and all modes oscillating with even multiples of
the forcing frequency are antisymmetric.
Description
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution February 2002
Collections
Suggested Citation
Thesis: Atherton, Juli, "Linear and nonlinear Rossby waves in basins both with and without a thin meridional barrier", 2002-02, DOI:10.1575/1912/2757, https://hdl.handle.net/1912/2757Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Baroclinic vortices over a sloping bottom
LaCasce, Joseph H. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1996-09)Nonlinear quasigeostrophic flows in two layers over a topographic slope are considered. The evolution depends on the size of two parameters which indicate the degree of nonlinearity at depth. The first measures the ... -
Estimation of planetary wave parameters from the data of the 1981 ocean acoustic tomography experiment
Chiu, Ching-Sang (Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1985-08)Using the maximum-likelihood estimation method and minimization techniques, quasi-geostrophic wave solutions were fitted to the observations of the 1981 Ocean Acoustic Tomography Experiment. The experiment occupied a ... -
Time-dependent assimilation of CTD data to an open ocean Rossby wave model
Gunson, James R. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1993-03)For two CTD surveys taken two months apart during the 1981 Ocean Tomography experiment southwest of Bermuda, a time-dependent ocean state is estimated that evolves from the first to the second survey. The mesoscale motions ...