Abstract
In a two-layer quasi-geostrophic numerical model, we study the vertical alignment of geostrophic vortices; we compare its efficiency for RVI conditions (a disk of constant relative vorticity in each layer initially) to that for PVI conditions (a disk of constant potential vorticity in each layer; Polvani, 1991). The disks of radius R are initially separated by a distance d, and R d is the internal radius of deformation. At small R d R and large d/R, a multipolar potential vorticity distribution is associated with these RVI conditions. This distribution is responsible for a much weaker efficiency of the alignment process in the RVI case than in the PVI case: indeed, the formation of horizontal or of vertical dipoles prevents alignment. Even more interesting is the case where alignment does occur: under PVI conditions, the end state is a simple vertical column of potential vorticity, while for RVI vortices it is a steadily rotating baroclinic tripole, a novel stationary feature of stratified geostrophic dynamics.
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© 1999 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Corréard, S.M., Carton, X.J. (1999). Vertical Alignment of Geostrophic Vortices. In: Sørensen, J.N., Hopfinger, E.J., Aubry, N. (eds) IUTAM Symposium on Simulation and Identification of Organized Structures in Flows. Fluid Mechanics and Its Applications, vol 52. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4601-2_17
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4601-2_17
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
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