Symmetric Stability and Instability of Ocean Currents

University Of Hawaii, Honolulu

Investigators

Abstract

Intellectual Merit: The project uses the effective energy method to comprehensively study symmetric instability in vortices and parallel shear flows with and without vertical shear. The work follows on previous successes in developing the effective energy method and applying it to establishing stability criteria for barotropic and Couette flows. As with these previous results, the work promises to provide stability criteria for baroclinic flows that can be applied more generally than using traditional normal modes methods. The project will address the interactions between stability, instability, and dissipative mechanisms such as double diffusion. The work will provide a theoretical basis for understanding the stability mechanisms that govern a range of oceanic and atmospheric flows. Broader Impacts: The project addresses fundamental questions regarding the dynamics of geophysical flows, and is therefore relevant to understanding ocean currents and atmospheric winds. In particular, the work has potential broader impacts in advancing theoretical knowledge of shear flow and vortex stability in both the oceans and atmosphere. The work also has the potential to provide simple and unifying mathematical concepts to explain longstanding problems in geophysical fluid dynamics.