Equatorial inertial instability with full Coriolis force

The zonally symmetric inertial instability of oceanic near-equatorial flows is studied through high-resolution numerical simulations. In homogeneous upper layers, the instability of surface-confined westward currents implies potentially fast downward mixing of momentum with a predictable final equil...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of fluid mechanics 2017-08, Vol.825, p.69-108
Main Authors: Kloosterziel, R. C., Carnevale, G. F., Orlandi, P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Approximation
Computer simulation
Coriolis force
Dynamics
Energy
Fluid flow
Instability
Momentum
Motion stability
Reynolds number
Surface stability
Velocity
Vortices
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Summary:The zonally symmetric inertial instability of oceanic near-equatorial flows is studied through high-resolution numerical simulations. In homogeneous upper layers, the instability of surface-confined westward currents implies potentially fast downward mixing of momentum with a predictable final equilibrium. With increasing Reynolds number, latitudinal scales along the surface associated with the instability become ever smaller and initially the motions are ever more concentrated underneath the surface. The results suggest that even if the upper layer is stratified, it may still be necessary to include the full Coriolis force in the dynamics rather than use the traditional $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}$ -plane approximation.
ISSN:0022-1120
1469-7645
DOI:10.1017/jfm.2017.377