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The instability of the ocean to Langmuir circulations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 April 2006

S. Leibovich  and
S. Paolucci
S. Leibovich
Affiliation:
Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853
S. Paolucci
Affiliation:
Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853 Present address: Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, California 94550.
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Abstract

It has been proposed that Langmuir circulations arise as an instability of the equations describing the Eulerian-mean flow in bodies of water supporting surface waves and subject to an applied wind stress. In infinitely deep density-stratified water, the solution of an appropriate initial-value problem is a unidirectional, time-dependent current. The stability of this current to two-dimensional (roll) disturbances is investigated by an energy analysis and by linear theory. It is found that the energy stability estimates and linear stability limits are very close, showing that subcritical instability, if it occurs, is limited to a very narrow region in parameter space. According to the present results, conditions typically occurring in the ocean are highly unstable to the Langmuir circulation instability.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 102 , January 1981 , pp. 141 - 167
Copyright
© 1981 Cambridge University Press

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