Variational balance models for the three-dimensional Euler–Boussinesq equations with full Coriolis force

Abstract

We derive a semi-geostrophic variational balance model for the three-dimensional Euler–Boussinesq equations on the nontraditional f-plane under the rigid lid approximation. The model is obtained by a small Rossby number expansion in the Hamilton principle, with no other approximations made. We allow for a fully non-hydrostatic flow and do not neglect the horizontal components of the Coriolis parameter; that is, we do not make the so-called “traditional approximation.” The resulting balance models have the same structure as the “L1 balance model” for the primitive equations: a kinematic balance relation, the prognostic equation for the three-dimensional tracer field, and an additional prognostic equation for a scalar field over the two-dimensional horizontal domain, which is linked to the undetermined constant of integration in the thermal wind relation. The balance relation is elliptic under the assumption of stable stratification and sufficiently small fluctuations in all prognostic fields.