Summer Study Program in Geophysical Fluid Dynamics, The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Baroclinic Instability and Ocean Fronts.

Abstract

Baroclinic instability as the largest scale of motion participating in the cross frontal oceanic transport process was the theme. Classical baroclinic instability theory, leading up to recent studies in which the distinctive structure of an ocean front is included. Finite amplitude baroclinic instability in the classical model was discussed with the corresponding effect in the frontal model. Laboratory experiments on baroclinic frontal theory was surveyed. The different kinds of oceanic fronts were surveyed and additional observations were supplied. The smallest scales of motion relevant to the cross-frontal transfer problem were discussed from the oceanic standpoint and from the point of view of laboratory experiments. The main theme was supplemented, as in all previous years, by a diversity of geophysical fluid dynamical subjects, the nature of which can be seen in the abstracts included in this report. Keywords: Geophysical fluid dynamics; Baroclinic instability; and Oceanic fronts.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 01, 1983
Accession Number
ADA166898

Entities

People

  • Florence K. Mellor
  • Melvin E. Stern

Organizations

  • Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • C4I
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Sensors
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Boundary Layer
  • Computational Fluid Dynamics
  • Computational Science
  • Convection
  • Doppler Effect
  • Energy Transfer
  • Fluid Dynamics
  • Froude Number
  • Geometry
  • Ocean Currents
  • Oceanography
  • Physics Laboratories
  • Standing Waves
  • Stratified Fluids
  • Three Dimensional
  • Topography
  • Turbulence

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Ocean-Atmosphere Mesoscale Modeling, Data Assimilation, and Flux Boundary Layers
  • Oceanography.
  • Plasma Physics / Magnetohydrodynamics