Abstract
The classic oceanographic problem of a 1.5-layer western boundary current evolving along a straight wall is considered. Here, building upon the previous work of Charney, Huang and Kamenkovich, we have derived, solved and validated a new numerical formulation for accounting for viscous effects in such systems. The numerical formulation is validated against rotating table experimental results.
Highlights
The objective of this manuscript is to gain insight into the fundamental physics of oceanic western boundary currents and their layered laboratory models
We will explore the asymmetry observed in laboratory results between the poleward and equatorward flowing boundary currents corresponding to the subtropical and subpolar gyre regions
Warm water contains less dissolved oxygen that would otherwise increase the formation of bubbles on the rigid lid of the experimental tank, which negatively effects the accuracy of flow measurements
Summary
The objective of this manuscript is to gain insight into the fundamental physics of oceanic western boundary currents and their layered laboratory models. The theoretical analysis of western boundary currents (WBCs) originated with the seminal works of Prandtl [1], Blasius [2], Stommel [3], Munk [4], and Schlichting [5] developing the boundary layer approach. The boundary layer approach is justified by the relative narrowness of the current systems such as the Gulf Stream and Kuroshio (≈100 km) compared to the scale of the subtropical gyre circulation (≈2000–10,000 km). Kamenkovich [9] considered this as well and obtained an explicit analytic solution using a functional relationship for a special class of boundary current transport with parabolic dependence, 4y(1 − y), on latitude 0 < y < 1. A more common sinusoidal dependence sin(πy) was used in later studies by Ierley and Ruehr [10] and Mallier [11]
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