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Two-layer quasi-geostrophic singular vortices embedded in a regular flow. Part 2. Steady and unsteady drift of individual vortices on a beta-plane

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 July 2007

GREGORY REZNIK  and
ZIV KIZNER
GREGORY REZNIK
Affiliation:
P. P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, 36 Nakhimousky prosp. Moscow 117997, Russia
ZIV KIZNER*
Affiliation:
Departments of Physics and Mathematics, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
*
† Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: zinovyk@mail.biu.ac.il
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Abstract

Drift of individual β-plane vortices confined to one layer of a two-layer fluid under the rigid-lid condition is considered. For this purpose, the theory of two-layer quasi-geostrophic singular vortices is employed. On a β-plane, any non-zonal displacement of a singular vortex results in the development of a regular flow. An individual singular β-plane vortex cannot be steady on its own: the vortex moves coexisting with a regular flow, be the drift steady or not. In this paper, both kinds of drift of a singular vortex are considered. A new steady exact solution is presented, a hybrid regular–singular modon. This hybrid modon consists of a dipole component and a circularly symmetric rider. The dipole is regular, and the rider is a superposition of the singular vortex and a regular circularly symmetric field. The unsteady drift of a singular vortex residing in one of the layers is considered under the condition that, at the initial instant, the regular field is absent. The development of barotropic and baroclinic regular β-gyres is examined. Whereas the barotropic and baroclinic modes of the singular vortex are comparable in magnitudes, the baroclinic β-gyres attenuate with time, making the trajectory of the vortex close to that of a barotropic monopole on a β-plane.

Type
Papers
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 584 , 10 August 2007 , pp. 203 - 223
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2007

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