Collaborative Research: Equilibration of Ocean Currents via Inertial Instability

合作研究：通过惯性不稳定性平衡洋流

• 批准号: 0726686
• 负责人: Rudolf Kloosterziel
• 金额: $ 29.44万
• 依托单位: University of Hawaii
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2007-09-01 至 2011-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0726686&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Equilibration; Ocean; Currents

Inertial instability occurs in rotating flows and results in the growth of perturbations in the form of streamwise vortices. If the intial flow is avortex, these perturbations take the form of toroidal or rib vortices. As they amplify, they begin to interact, forming dipoles that move out of the initially unstable region. In axisymmetric flows, the net effect of the motion and interaction of these vortices is homogenization of potential vorticity, forcing it to vanish in the instability region and beyond which then stabilizes the flow. Recently, scientists from Scripps Institute of Oceanography and the University of Hawaii have found that they can predict, with remarkable precision, the final state after this nonlinear process. They now plan to develop this theory for predicting the evolution of other kinds of vortices as well. Their work will involve numerical and theoretical research of three-dimensional flows and ill consider how this process competes with other instabilities. The results have implcations for the stabilization and maintenance of oceanic currents and eddies. In addition, the results will have an impact on the the development of models which can not resolve small scale processes.

惯性不稳定发生在旋转流动中，并以流向涡的形式导致扰动的增长。如果初始流动是涡旋，则这些扰动采取环状涡或肋状涡的形式。随着它们的放大，它们开始相互作用，形成偶极子，并移出最初不稳定的区域。在轴对称流动中，这些涡旋的运动和相互作用的净影响是势涡的均化，迫使势涡在不稳定区域消失，然后在不稳定区域之外稳定流动。最近，斯克里普斯海洋研究所和夏威夷大学的科学家们发现，他们可以以惊人的精度预测这个非线性过程之后的最终状态。他们现在计划发展这一理论，以预测其他类型的涡旋的演变。他们的工作将涉及三维流动的数值和理论研究，并将考虑这一过程如何与其他不稳定性竞争。这一结果对稳定和维持洋流和涡流具有重要意义。此外，对于不能解决小尺度过程的模型的开发，其结果也会产生影响。