On the Asymptotic Regimes and the Strongly Stratified Limit of Rotating Boussinesq Equations

Asymptotic regimes of geophysical dynamics are described for different Burger number limits. Rotating Boussinesq equations are analyzed in the asymptotic limit of strong stratification in the Burger number of order one situation as well as in the asymptotic regime of strong stratification and weak rotation. It is shown that in both regimes the horizontally averaged buoyancy variable is an adiabatic invariant (approximate conservation law) for the full Boussinesq system. Spectral phase shift corrections to the buoyancy time scale associated with vertical shearing of this invariant are deduced. Statistical dephasing effects induced by turbulent processes on inertial-gravity waves are evidenced. The “split” of the energy transfer of the vortical and the wave components is established in the Craya–Herring cyclic basis. As the Burger number increases from zero to infinity, we demonstrate gradual unfreezing of energy cascades for ageostrophic dynamics. This property is related to the nonlinear geostrophic adjustment mechanism which is the capacity of ageostrophic dynamics to transfer energy to small scales. The energy spectrum and the anisotropic spectral eddy viscosity are deduced with an explicit dependence on the anisotropic rotation/stratification time scale which depends on the vertical aspect ratio parameter. Intermediate asymptotic regime corresponding to strong stratification and weak rotation is analyzed where the effects of weak rotation are accounted for by an asymptotic expansion with full control (saturation) of vertical shearing. The regularizing effect of weak rotation differs from regularizations based on vertical viscosity. Two scalar prognostic equations for ageostrophic components (divergent velocity potential and geostrophic departure) are obtained. Received 23 January 1997 and accepted 11 July 1997     

Decaying homogeneous turbulence under strong density stratification at low-Prandtl number

The characteristics of decaying homogeneous turbulence under strong density stratification have been studied using direct numerical simulations. While our previous study dealt with rotating stratified turbulence, here we investigate the detailed flow structure of stratified turbulence without rotation especially at low-Prandtl number. By assuming a low-Prandtl-number fluid, e.g. liquid sodium: Pr ≈ 0.01, gallium: Pr ≈ 0.025, internal gravity waves are markedly attenuated due to the large thermal conductivity, and turbulence soon reaches a two-component state, where vertical energy, coupled with potential energy, significantly decays, and becomes negligible as observed experimentally (Praud et al. in J Fluid Mech 522:1–33, 2005). In the horizontal plane, there appear large-scale vortices with vertical vorticity, and those with the same sign of vorticity increase their horizontal length scale by merging with each other. In the vertical plane, highly sheared regions represented by horizontal vorticity also tend to horizontally increase their length scale and become layered structures by the combined effects of vortex coalescence and energy cascade into higher vertical wavenumbers.      

A Numerical Study of an Operator Splitting Method for Rotating Flows with Large Ageostrophic Initial Data

We propose an operator splitting method which is especially suitable for long-time integration of geophysical equations characterized by the presence of multiple-time scales and weak-operator splitting. The method is illustrated on the classical rotating shallow-water equations on a periodic domain with large ageostrophic (unprepared) initial data. The asymptotic splitting decomposes the solution into a first part which solves the quasigeostrophic equation; a second one which is the “slow” ageostrophic component of the flow; and a corrector. The particular decomposition we use ensures that the corrector is small for large rotation. By considering only the “slow” ageostrophic and quasigeostrophic components a numerical approximation to the shallow-water equations is derived that effectively removes the time-step restrictions caused by the presence of fast waves. The splitting is exact in the asymptotic limit of large rotation and includes the nonlinearity of the equations. Numerical examples are included. These examples demonstrate a significant reduction in the computational cost over direct numerical approximations of the shallow-water equations. We conclude with an outline of a general operator splitting method for more general primitive geophysical equations. Received 1 July 1998 and accepted 1 December 1998     

A non-oscillatory balanced scheme for an idealized tropical climate model

We use the non-oscillatory balanced numerical scheme developed in Part I to track the dynamics of a dry highly nonlinear barotropic/baroclinic coupled solitary wave, as introduced by Biello and Majda (2004), and of the moisture fronts of Frierson et al. (2004) in the presence of dry gravity waves, a barotropic trade wind, and the beta effect. It is demonstrated that, for the barotropic/baroclinic solitary wave, except for a little numerical dissipation, the scheme utilized here preserves total energy despite the strong interactions and exchange of energy between the baroclinic and barotropic components of the flow. After a short transient period where the numerical solution stays close to the asymptotic predictions, the flow develops small scale eddies and ultimately becomes highly turbulent. It is found here that the interaction of a dry gravity wave with a moisture front can either result in a reflection of a fast moistening front or the pure extinction of the precipitation. The barotropic trade wind stretches the precipitation patches and increases the lifetime of the moisture fronts which decay naturally by the effects of dissipation through precipitation while the Coriolis effect makes the moving precipitation patches disappear and appear at other times and places.     

Vortex motion in a rotating barotropic fluid layer

To study vortex motion and the mechanisms of geostrophic adjustment (i.e. the equilibrium between pressure gradient and Coriolis force, which leads to the weakening of inertio-gravity waves) in large scale geophysical flows, we simulate the dynamics of a shallow-water layer in uniform rotation, without any forcing other than the initial injection of energy and potential enstrophy. Such a flow generates inertio-gravity waves which interact with the rotational eddies. We found that both inertio-gravity waves and rotation reduce the non-linear interactions between vortices, namely the condensation of the vorticity field into isolated coherent vortices, corresponding to the inverse rotational energy cascade, and the associated production of vorticity filaments, due to the direct potential enstrophy cascade. Rotation also inhibits the direct inertio-gravitational energy cascade for scales larger than the Rossby deformation radius. Therefore, if inertio-gravity waves are initially excited at large enough scales, they will remain trapped there due to rotation and there will be no geostrophic adjustment. On the contrary, if inertio-gravity waves are only present at scales smaller than the Rossby deformation radius, which are insensitive to the effect of rotation, they will non-linearly interact and cascade towards the dissipative scales, leaving the flow in geostrophic equilibrium.     

The Symplectic Evans Matrix,¶and the Instability of Solitary Waves and Fronts

Hamiltonian evolution equations which are equivariant with respect to the action of a Lie group are models for physical phenomena such as oceanographic flows, optical fibres and atmospheric flows, and such systems often have a wide variety of solitary-wave or front solutions. In this paper, we present a new symplectic framework for analysing the spectral problem associated with the linearization about such solitary waves and fronts. At the heart of the analysis is a multi-symplectic formulation of Hamiltonian partial differential equations where a distinct symplectic structure is assigned for the time and space directions, with a third symplectic structure – with two-form denoted by Ω– associated with a coordinate frame moving at the speed of the wave. This leads to a geometric decomposition and symplectification of the Evans function formulation for the linearization about solitary waves and fronts. We introduce the concept of the symplectic Evans matrix, a matrix consisting of restricted Ω-symplectic forms. By applying Hodge duality to the exterior algebra formulation of the Evans function, we find that the zeros of the Evans function correspond to zeros of the determinant of the symplectic Evans matrix. Based on this formulation, we prove several new properties of the Evans function. Restricting the spectral parameter λ to the real axis, we obtain rigorous results on the derivatives of the Evans function near the origin, based solely on the abstract geometry of the equations, and results for the large |λ| behaviour which use primarily the symplectic structure, but also extend to the non-symplectic case. The Lie group symmetry affects the Evans function by generating zero eigenvalues of large multiplicity in the so-called systems at infinity. We present a new geometric theory which describes precisely how these zero eigenvalues behave under perturbation. By combining all these results, a new rigorous sufficient condition for instability of solitary waves and fronts is obtained. The theory applies to a large class of solitary waves and fronts including waves which are bi-asymptotic to a nonconstant manifold of states as $|x|$ tends to infinity. To illustrate the theory, it is applied to three examples: a Boussinesq model from oceanography, a class of nonlinear Schr?dinger equations from optics and a nonlinear Klein-Gordon equation from atmospheric dynamics. Accepted August 7, 2000 ?Published online January 22, 2001     

Classification of instability modes in a model of aluminium reduction cells with a uniform magnetic field

A unified view on the interfacial instability in a model of aluminium reduction cells in the presence of a uniform, vertical, background magnetic field is presented. The classification of instability modes is based on the asymptotic theory for high values of parameter β, which characterises the ratio of the Lorentz force based on the disturbance current, and gravity. It is shown that the spectrum of the travelling waves consists of two parts independent of the horizontal cross-section of the cell: highly unstable wall modes and stable or weakly unstable centre, or Sele’s modes. The wall modes with the disturbance of the interface being localised at the sidewalls of the cell dominate the dynamics of instability. Sele’s modes are characterised by a distributed disturbance over the whole horizontal extent of the cell. As β increases these modes are stabilized by the field.     

Multicloud Convective Parametrizations with Crude Vertical Structure

Recent observational analysis reveals the central role of three multi-cloud types, congestus, stratiform, and deep convective cumulus clouds, in the dynamics of large scale convectively coupled Kelvin waves, westward propagating two-day waves, and the Madden–Julian oscillation. The authors have recently developed a systematic model convective parametrization highlighting the dynamic role of the three cloud types through two baroclinic modes of vertical structure: a deep convective heating mode and a second mode with low level heating and cooling corresponding respectively to congestus and stratiform clouds. The model includes a systematic moisture equation where the lower troposphere moisture increases through detrainment of shallow cumulus clouds, evaporation of stratiform rain, and moisture convergence and decreases through deep convective precipitation and a nonlinear switch which favors either deep or congestus convection depending on whether the troposphere is moist or dry. Here several new facets of these multi-cloud models are discussed including all the relevant time scales in the models and the links with simpler parametrizations involving only a single baroclinic mode in various limiting regimes. One of the new phenomena in the multi-cloud models is the existence of suitable unstable radiative convective equilibria (RCE) involving a larger fraction of congestus clouds and a smaller fraction of deep convective clouds. Novel aspects of the linear and nonlinear stability of such unstable RCE’s are studied here. They include new modes of linear instability including mesoscale second baroclinic moist gravity waves, slow moving mesoscale modes resembling squall lines, and large scale standing modes. The nonlinear instability of unstable RCE’s to homogeneous perturbations is studied with three different types of nonlinear dynamics occurring which involve adjustment to a steady deep convective RCE, periodic oscillation, and even heteroclinic chaos in suitable parameter regimes.     

Nonlinear Stability for Multidimensional Fourth-Order Shock Fronts

We consider the question of stability for planar wave solutions that arise in multidimensional conservation laws with only fourth-order regularization. Such equations arise, for example, in the study of thin films, for which planar waves correspond to fluid coating a pre-wetted surface. An interesting feature of these equations is that both compressive, and undercompressive, planar waves arise as solutions (compressive or undercompressive with respect to asymptotic behavior relative to the un-regularized hyperbolic system), and numerical investigation by Bertozzi, Münch, and Shearer indicates that undercompressive waves can be nonlinearly stable. Proceeding with pointwise estimates on the Green's function for the linear fourth-order convection–regularization equation that arises upon linearization of the conservation law about the planar wave solution, we establish that under general spectral conditions, such as appear to hold for shock fronts arising in our motivating thin films equations, compressive waves are stable for all dimensions d≧2 and undercompressive waves are stable for dimensions d≧3. (In the special case d=1, compressive waves are stable under a very general spectral condition.) We also consider an alternative spectral criterion (valid, for example, in the case of constant-coefficient regularization), for which we can establish nonlinear stability for compressive waves in dimensions d≧3 and undercompressive waves in dimensions d≧5. The case of stability for undercompressive waves in the thin films equations for the critical dimensions d=1 and d=2 remains an interesting open problem.     

Asymptotic solutions of the axisymmetric moist Hadley circulation in a model with two vertical modes

A simplified model of the moist axisymmetric Hadley circulation is examined in the asymptotic limit in which surface drag is strong and the meridional wind is weak compared to the zonal wind. Our model consists of the quasi-equilibrium tropical circulation model (QTCM) equations on an axisymmetric aquaplanet equatorial beta-plane. This model includes two vertical momentum modes, one baroclinic and one barotropic. Prior studies use either continuous stratification, or a shallow water system best viewed as representing the upper troposphere. The analysis here focuses on the interaction of the baroclinic and barotropic modes, and the way in which this interaction allows the constraints on the circulation known from the fully stratified case to be satisfied in an approximate way. The dry equations, with temperature forced by Newtonian relaxation towards a prescribed radiative equilibrium, are solved first. To leading order, the resulting circulation has a zonal wind profile corresponding to uniform angular momentum at a level near the tropopause, and zero zonal surface wind, owing to the cancelation of the barotropic and baroclinic modes there. The weak surface winds are calculated from the first-order corrections. The broad features of these solutions are similar to those obtained in previous studies of the dry Hadley circulation. The moist equations are solved next, with a fixed sea surface temperature at the lower boundary and simple parameterizations of surface fluxes, deep convection, and radiative transfer. The solutions yield the structure of the barotropic and baroclinic winds, as well as the temperature and moisture fields. In addition, we derive expressions for the width and strength of the equatorial precipitating region (ITCZ) and the width of the entire Hadley circulation. The ITCZ width is on the order of a few degrees in the absence of any horizontal diffusion and is relatively insensitive to parameter variations.     

Convection in a stratified binary mixture near a thermally inhomogeneous vertical surface

The stationary convection in a stratified two-component medium, for example, saline sea water, near a thermally inhomogeneous vertical surface is investigated analytically. Physically different cases of thermal inhomogeneities extended in the vertical or horizontal direction are considered. The solutions obtained can be applied to problems of convection in semibounded horizontal or vertical layers in the presence of thermal inhomogeneities at the “ends” of the layer. The solutions show that in two-component media convection is very specific. In particular, the spatial pattern of the thermal response to inhomogeneous heatingmay significantly differ from the case of an ordinary single-component medium: additional perturbation modes that penetrate deeply into the stably stratified medium appear. For an arbitrarily strong hydrostatic stability of the medium there exists an unexplored mechanism of convective instability related with the difference in the boundary conditions for the two substances. Weak variations of the background stratification of the admixture concentration (salinity) may significantly affect the heat exchange between a vertical surface and the medium. Even a very weak presence of the second component (a small contribution of the admixture stratification to the background density stratification) may lead not only to a significant quantitative change in the thermal response but also to a change in its sign, for example, to a significant decrease in the temperature of the medium in response to a heat influx from the vertical boundary.     

Existence and Uniqueness of Solutions¶of an Asymptotic Equation¶Arising from a Variational Wave Equation¶with General Data

We establish here the global existence and uniqueness of admissible (both dissipative and conservative) weak solutions to a canonical asymptotic equation () for weakly nonlinear solutions of a class of nonlinear variational wave equations with any L ²(ℝ) initial datum. We use the method of Young measures and mollification techniques. Accepted April 25, 2000?Published online November 16, 2000     

Application of digital phase-shift holographic interferometry to weak shock waves propagating at Mach 1.007

Digital phase-shift holographic interferometry was applied to visualize weak shock waves and related phenomena quantitatively. This method of interferometry is an improved version of double-exposure holographic interferometry using digital image processing and a phase shift method. The obtained interferograms were analyzed using the Carré method. To evaluate the applicability of the interferometry to quantitatively visualize the phenomena, density profiles behind weak spherical shock waves generated with 500 μg of silver azide were examined. The results of the numerical analysis performed with the hydrocode AUTODYN were compared with those of the experiment. The Mach number of visualized shock waves was estimated to be 1.007 ± 0.001 at the pressure transducer near the test section. At the shock fronts, the density difference between the experimental and numerical results was within 0.3%.     

Equilibrium states in homogeneous turbulence with baroclinic instability

The evolution of energies and fluxes in homogeneous turbulence with baroclinic instability is analyzed using the linear theory. The mean flow corresponds to a vertical shear having a uniform mean velocity gradient, ?U _i /?x _j  = S δ _i1 δ _j3, a system rotation about the vertical axis with rate Ω, Ω _i  = Ωδ _i3, and uniform buoyancy gradients in the spanwise ${(\partial B{/}\partial x_2\,{=}\, N_h^2\,{=}\,-2\Omega S)}The evolution of energies and fluxes in homogeneous turbulence with baroclinic instability is analyzed using the linear theory. The mean flow corresponds to a vertical shear having a uniform mean velocity gradient, ∂U _i /∂x _j  = S δ _i1 δ _j3, a system rotation about the vertical axis with rate Ω, Ω _i  = Ωδ _i3, and uniform buoyancy gradients in the spanwise (?B/?x₂ = N_h² = -2WS){(\partial B{/}\partial x_2\,{=}\, N_h^2\,{=}\,-2\Omega S)} and vertical (?B/?x₃ = N_v²){(\partial B{/}\partial x_3\,{=}\,N_v^2)} directions. Computations based on the rapid distortion theory (RDT) are performed for several values of the rotation number R = 2Ω/S and the Richardson number R_i = N_v²/S² < 1{R_i\,{=}\,N_v^2/S^2 <1 }. It is shown that, during an initial phase, the energies and the buoyancy fluxes are sensitive to the effects of pressure and viscosity. At large time, the ratios of energies, as well as the normalized fluxes, evolve to an asymptotically constant value, while the pressure–strain correlation scaled with the product of the turbulent kinetic energy by the shear rate approaches zero. Accordingly, an analytical parametric study based on the “pressure-less” approach (PLA) is also presented. The analytical study indicates that, when R _i  < 1, there is an exponential instability and equilibrium states of turbulence, in agreement with RDT. The energies and the buoyancy fluxes grow exponentially for large times with the same rate (γ in St units). The asymptotic value of the ratios of energies yielded by RDT is well described by its PLA counterpart derived analytically. At R _i  = 0, the asymptotic value of γ increases with increasing R approaching 2 for high rotation rates. At low rotation rates, an important contribution to the kinetic energy comes from the streamwise kinetic energy, whereas, at high rotation rates, the contribution of the vertical kinetic energy is dominant. When 0 < R _i  < 1 and R 1 0{R\ne 0}, the asymptotic value of γ decreases as R _i increases so as it becomes zero at R _i  = 1.     

A non-oscillatory balanced scheme for an idealized tropical climate model

We propose a non-oscillatory balanced numerical scheme for a simplified tropical climate model with a crude vertical resolution, reduced to the barotropic and the first baroclinic modes. The two modes exchange energy through highly nonlinear interaction terms. We consider a periodic channel domain, oriented zonally and centered around the equator and adopt a fractional stepping–splitting strategy, for the governing system of equations, dividing it into three natural pieces which independently preserve energy. We obtain a scheme which preserves geostrophic steady states with minimal ad hoc dissipation by using state of the art numerical methods for each piece: The f-wave algorithm for conservation laws with varying flux functions and source terms of Bale et al. (2002) for the advected baroclinic waves and the Riemann solver-free non-oscillatory central scheme of Levy and Tadmor (1997) for the barotropic-dispersive waves. Unlike the traditional use of a time splitting procedure for conservation laws with source terms (here, the Coriolis forces), the class of balanced schemes to which the f-wave algorithm belongs are able to preserve exactly, to the machine precision, hydrostatic (geostrophic) numerical-steady states. The interaction terms are gathered into a single second order accurate predictor-corrector scheme to minimize energy leakage. Validation tests utilizing known exact solutions consisting of baroclinic Kelvin, Yanai, and equatorial Rossby waves and barotropic Rossby wave packets are given.     

Modeling of long nonlinear waves on the interface in a horizontal two-layer viscous channel flow

The dynamics of two-dimensional waves of small but finite amplitude are theoretically studied for the case of a two-layer system bounded by a horizontal top and bottom. It is shown that for relatively large steady-state flow velocities and at certain fluid depth ratios the vertical velocity profile is nonlinear. An evolutionary equation governing the fluid interface disturbances and allowing for the long-wave contributions of the layer inertia and surface tension, the weak nonlinearity of the waves, and the unsteady friction on all the boundaries of the system is derived. Steady-state solutions of the cnoidal and solitary wave type for the disturbed flow are determined without regard for dissipation losses. It is found that the magnitude and the direction of the flow can alter not only the lengths of the waves but also their polarity.__________Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Academii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 1, 2005, pp. 143–158. Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Arkhipov and Khabakhpashev.     

Internal wave generation by a fountain in a stratified fluid

The purpose of the study is the direct numerical and theoretical modeling of fountain dynamics in a fluid with density stratification in the form of a pycnocline. The fountain is formed as a vertical jet penetrates through the pycnocline. In numerical simulation the jet flow is initiated by means of preassigning a boundary condition in the form of an upward-directed laminar flow of a neutral-buoyancy fluid with an axisymmetric Gaussian velocity profile. The calculations show that at a Froude number Fr greater than a certain critical value the flow becomes unstable and the fountain executes self-oscillations accompanied by internal wave generation in the pycnocline. Depending on Fr, two self-oscillation modes can be distinguished. At fairly low Fr the fountain executes circular motion in the horizontal plane, in the vicinity of the center of jet, its shape remaining almost invariant. In this case, internal waves in the form of unwinding spirals are radiated. At fairly high Fr another mode predominates, when the fountain top chaotically “strays” in the vicinity of the center of the jet and, periodically breaking down, generates wave packets propagating toward the periphery of the computation domain. In both cases, the main peak in the frequency spectrum of the internal waves coincides with the fountain top oscillation frequency which monotonically decreases with increase in Fr. In numerical simulation the Fr-dependence of the fountain top oscillation amplitude is in good agreement with that predicted by the theoretical model of the concurrence of the interacting modes in the soft self-excitation regime.     

Coarsening Fronts

We characterize the spatial spreading of the coarsening process in the Allen–Cahn equation in terms of the propagation of a nonlinear modulated front. Unstable periodic patterns of the Allen–Cahn equation are invaded by a front, propagating in an oscillatory fashion, and leaving behind the homogeneous, stable equilibrium. During one cycle of the oscillatory propagation, two layers of the periodic pattern are annihilated. Galerkin approximations and the Conley index for ill-posed spatial dynamics are used to show existence of modulated fronts for all parameter values. In the limit of small amplitude patterns or large wave speeds, we establish uniqueness and asymptotic stability of the modulated fronts. We show that the minimal speed of propagation can be characterized by a dichotomy which depends on the existence of pulled fronts. The main tools here are an Evans function type construction for the infinite-dimensional ill-posed dynamics and an analysis of the complex dispersion relation based on Sturm–Liouville theory.     

A New Class of Equations for Rotationally Constrained Flows

The incompressible Navier–Stokes equation is considered in the limit of rapid rotation (small Ekman number). The analysis is limited to horizontal scales small enough so that both horizontal and vertical velocities are comparable, but the horizontal velocity components are still in geostrophic balance. Asymptotic analysis leads to a pair of nonlinear equations for the vertical velocity and vertical vorticity coupled by vertical stretching. Statistically stationary states are maintained against viscous dissipation by boundary forcing or energy injection at larger scales. For thermal forcing direct numerical simulation of the reduced equations reveals the presence of intense vortical structures spanning the layer depth, in excellent agreement with simulations of the Boussinesq equations for rotating convection by Julien et al. (1996). Received 30 May 1997 and accepted 4 January 1998     

On the Existence and Conditional Energetic Stability of Solitary Gravity-Capillary Surface Waves on Deep Water

This paper presents an existence and stability theory for gravity-capillary solitary waves on the surface of a body of water of infinite depth. Exploiting a classical variational principle, we prove the existence of a minimiser of the wave energy E{{\mathcal E}} subject to the constraint I=?2m{{\mathcal I}=\sqrt{2}\mu}, where I{{\mathcal I}} is the wave momentum and 0 < m << 1{0 < \mu \ll 1} . Since E{{\mathcal E}} and I{{\mathcal I}} are both conserved quantities a standard argument asserts the stability of the set D _μ of minimisers: solutions starting near D _μ remain close to D _μ in a suitably defined energy space over their interval of existence. In the applied mathematics literature solitary water waves of the present kind are modelled as solutions of the nonlinear Schr?dinger equation with cubic focussing nonlinearity. We show that the waves detected by our variational method converge (after an appropriate rescaling) to solutions of this model equation as mˉ 0{\mu \downarrow 0} .