Linearly forced fluid flow on a rotating sphere

© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press. We investigate generalized Navier-Stokes (GNS) equations that couple nonlinear advection with a generic linear instability. This analytically tractable minimal model for fluid flows driven by internal active stresses has recently been s...

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Détails bibliographiques
Auteurs principaux: Supekar, Rohit, Heinonen, Vili, Burns, Keaton J, Dunkel, Jörn
Autres auteurs: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering
Format: Article
Langue:English
Publié: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2021
Accès en ligne:https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/135929
Description
Résumé:© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press. We investigate generalized Navier-Stokes (GNS) equations that couple nonlinear advection with a generic linear instability. This analytically tractable minimal model for fluid flows driven by internal active stresses has recently been shown to permit exact solutions on a stationary two-dimensional sphere. Here, we extend the analysis to linearly driven flows on rotating spheres. We derive exact solutions of the GNS equations corresponding to time-independent zonal jets and superposed westward-propagating Rossby waves, qualitatively similar to those seen in planetary atmospheres. Direct numerical simulations with large rotation rates obtain statistically stationary states close to these exact solutions. The measured phase speeds of waves in the GNS simulations agree with analytical predictions for Rossby waves.