A transverse hydraulic jump in a model of the Faroe Bank Channel outflow

Abstract

Realizations of transverse hydraulic jumps in rotating overflows have been limited to simple shallow-water models and to one laboratory experiment. Such jumps are marked by an abrupt increase in the width of the current. The following note identifies an apparent example of a transverse jump in a model of the Faroe Bank Channel overflow, one that contains realistic stratification and bathymetry and that reproduces other observed features of the Faroe Bank outflow plume. We discuss structural similarities between the model jump and idealized transverse jumps, including a new example of a shallow-water jump in a channel with a parabolic cross section. More significantly, we calculate the long-wave speeds of the Faroe Bank model plume and show that the requisite subcritical-to-supercritical transition takes place across the observed jump.