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Mathematical Models and Methods for Planet Earth pp 11–24Cite as

The Role of Boundary Layers in the Large-scale Ocean Circulation

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Part of the book series: Springer INdAM Series ((SINDAMS,volume 6))

Abstract

Understanding the mechanisms governing the ocean circulation is a challenge for geophysicists, but also for mathematicians who have to develop tools to analyze these complex models (involving a large number of time and space scales).

A particularly important mechanism for the large-scale circulation is the boundary layer phenomenon, which accounts for amacroscopic part of the energetic fluxes. We will show here using a very simplified model that it explains in particular the Western intensification of currents. We will then exhibit the mathematical difficulties arising in more complex geometries.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Département de Mathématiques et Applications, Université Pierre et Marie Curie & Ecole Normale Supérieure, 45 rue d’Ulm, 75230, Paris Cedex, France

    Laure Saint-Raymond

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  1. Laure Saint-Raymond
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Correspondence to Laure Saint-Raymond .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Matematica, Università degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata, Roma, Italy

    Alessandra Celletti , Ugo Locatelli  & Elisabetta Strickland ,  & 

  2. Dipartimento di Matematica, Università degli Studi di Bologna, Bologna, Italy

    Tommaso Ruggeri

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Saint-Raymond, L. (2014). The Role of Boundary Layers in the Large-scale Ocean Circulation. In: Celletti, A., Locatelli, U., Ruggeri, T., Strickland, E. (eds) Mathematical Models and Methods for Planet Earth. Springer INdAM Series, vol 6. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02657-2_2

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