Two-layer quasi-geostrophic singular vortices embedded in a regular flow. Part 1. Invariants of motion and stability of vortex pairs

Abstract

The concept of a quasi-geostrophic singular vortex is extended to several types of two-layer model: a rigid-lid two-layer, a free-surface two-layer and a $2{\textstyle{1 \over 2}}$-layer model with two active and one passive layer. Generally, a singular vortex differs from a conventional point vortex in that the intrinsic vorticity of a singular vortex, in addition to delta-function, contains an exponentially decaying term. The theory developed herein occupies an intermediate position between discrete and fully continuous multilayer models, since the regular flow and its interaction with the singular vortices are also taken into account. A system of equations describing the joint evolution of the vortices and the regular field is presented, and integrals expressing the conservation of enstrophy, energy, momentum and mass are derived. Using these integrals, the initial phases of evolution of an individual singular vortex confined to one layer and of a coaxial pair of vortices positioned in different layers of a two-layer fluid on a beta-plane are described. A valuable application of the conservation integrals is related to the stability analysis of point-vortex pairs within the $1{\textstyle{1 \over 2}}$-layer model, $2{\textstyle{1 \over 2}}$-layer model, and free-surface two-layer model on the f-plane. Such vortex pairs are shown to be nonlinearly stable with respect to any small perturbation provided its regular-flow energy and enstrophy are finite.