On Intermediate Models for Barotropic Continental Shelf and Slope Flow Fields. Part III: Comparison of Numerical Model Solutions in Periodic Channels

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Abstract
The study of intermediate models for barotropic continental shelf and slope flow fields initiated in Parts I and II is continued. The objective is to investigate the possible use of intermediate models for process and data assimilation studies of nonlinear mesoscale eddy and jet current fields over the continental shelf and slope. Intermediate models contain physics between that in the primitive equations and that in the quasi-geostrophic equations and are capable of representing subinertial frequency motion over the O(1) topographic variations typical of the continental slope while filtering out high-frequency gravity–inertial waves. We concentrate on the application of intermediate models to the f-plane shallow-water equations. The accuracy of several intermediate models is evaluated here by a comparison of numerical finite-difference solutions with those of the primitive shallow-water equations (SWE) and with those of the quasi-geostrophic equations (QG) for flow in a periodic channel. The int... Abstract The study of intermediate models for barotropic continental shelf and slope flow fields initiated in Parts I and II is continued. The objective is to investigate the possible use of intermediate models for process and data assimilation studies of nonlinear mesoscale eddy and jet current fields over the continental shelf and slope. Intermediate models contain physics between that in the primitive equations and that in the quasi-geostrophic equations and are capable of representing subinertial frequency motion over the O(1) topographic variations typical of the continental slope while filtering out high-frequency gravity–inertial waves. We concentrate on the application of intermediate models to the f-plane shallow-water equations. The accuracy of several intermediate models is evaluated here by a comparison of numerical finite-difference solutions with those of the primitive shallow-water equations (SWE) and with those of the quasi-geostrophic equations (QG) for flow in a periodic channel. The int...