The flow of a stratified fluid in a rotating annulus
- 20 January 1977
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Journal of Fluid Mechanics
- Vol. 79 (3) , 435-447
- https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022112077000251
Abstract
The motion of a continuously stratified fluid in a rotating annulus is investigated experimentally. The flow is driven by the differential rotation of a lid on the annulus in contact with the fluid. For small enough Rossby numbers the basic flow is found to be axisymmetric, but in contrast to the unstratified case the zonal flow is not independent of the depth, and there is significant vertical shear in the interior. As the Rossby number of the flow is increased the axisymmetric flow becomes unstable to non-axisymmetric baroclinic disturbances. Some features of these disturbances as well as the time response to the motion of the lid are examined.Keywords
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