Inertia-gravity waves generated by near balanced flow in 2-layer shallow water turbulence on the β-plane

Achim Wirth (1)

1 LEGI - Laboratoire des Écoulements Géophysiques et Industriels [Grenoble]

Using a fine resolution numerical model (40002 ×2 grid-points) of the two-layer shallow-water equations of the mid-latitude -plane dynamics, it is shown that there is no sudden breakdown of balance in the turbulent enstrophy cascade but a faint and continuous emission of inertia-gravity waves. The wave energy accumulates in the equator-ward region of the domain due to the Coriolis parameter depending on the latitude and dispersion relation of inertia-gravity waves.

Domaines: Océan, Atmosphère; Planète et Univers [physics]

Achim Wirth. Inertia-gravity waves generated by near balanced flow in 2-layer shallow water turbulence on the β-plane. Nonlinear Processes in Geophysics, 2013, 20, pp.25-34. ⟨10.5194/npg-20-25-2013⟩. ⟨hal-00786514⟩