On the Barotropic Model of the Ocean Circulation,

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the question of whether ocean circulation models have unique steady solutions. We consider this question for the simplest such model, namely that of a homogeneous wind-driven ocean, with bottom friction and no topography. We examine the mathematical properties of the solutions of a barotropic, wind driven ocean with bottom friction on both a beta- and f-plane. Except for small Rossby numbers, the uniqueness of the solutions of the corresponding partial differential equations is dependent on an a priori bound for the gradient of the velocity. For the f-plane, two drivings are considered which give rise to explicit, global unique solutions. For large Rossby numbers, a novel nonlocal, nonlinear boundary value problem, which does depend on the beta-effect, is obtained for the circulation.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1987
Accession Number
ADA188148

Entities

People

  • E. S. Titi
  • P. Constantin
  • V. Barcilon

Organizations

  • University of Chicago

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Asymptotic Series
  • Boundaries
  • Boundary Value Problems
  • Differential Equations
  • Eigenvalues
  • Eigenvectors
  • Equations
  • Formulas (Mathematics)
  • Friction
  • Inequalities
  • Integral Equations
  • Mathematical Analysis
  • Ocean Currents
  • Oceans
  • Partial Differential Equations
  • Theorems
  • Wind Stress

Fields of Study

  • Mathematics

Readers

  • Coastal Oceanography
  • Finite Element Method (FEM) for solving Partial Differential Equations (PDEs)