Flow Over Finite Isolated Topography

Abstract

One and two layer models are used to study flow over axisymmetric isolated topography. A one-layer quasi-geostrophic model is used to find the shape of Taylor columns on the Beta-plane in the inviscid limit of the frictional problem. An iterative boundary integral technique is used to find the solution. Flow over finite topography in a one-layer model and a quasi- geostrophic two-layer model is studied. Qualitative differences exist between the quasi-geostrophic solution and the finite depth solution when the effect of Beta is large. In the two-layer model, the topography goes all of the way through the lower layer and an order Rossby number amount into the upper layer. A modified contour dynamics method is developed that extends the range of problems to which contour dynamics can be applied and is used to study the initial value problem of flow over topography. When the topography fills up most of the water column in a barotropic model, fluid oscillates on and off the topography. In a small topography quasi-geostrophic two-layer model, and eddy is shed which is surface-intensified when the topography is finite.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 01, 1990
Accession Number
ADA236926

Entities

People

  • LuAnne Thompson

Organizations

  • Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Boundary Layer
  • Computational Fluid Dynamics
  • Computational Science
  • Contour Integrals
  • Differential Equations
  • Fluid Dynamics
  • Fluid Mechanics
  • Geometry
  • Integral Equations
  • New England
  • Oceanography
  • Partial Differential Equations
  • Stagnation Point
  • Stratified Fluids
  • Topography
  • Turbulent Mixing
  • Two Dimensional

Readers

  • Fluid Dynamics.
  • Ocean-Atmosphere Mesoscale Modeling, Data Assimilation, and Flux Boundary Layers