A new approach to equatorial inertial instability

海洋模式没有解决小尺度、近赤道的不稳定，但它们在发展和维持大尺度洋流方面的作用非常重要。对赤道惯性不稳定的审查将大大提高对这种不稳定在赤道地区洋流不稳定和平衡中所起作用的理解。新的理论也将被开发出来，以帮助我们增进对近赤道地区惯性不稳定性的了解。通过研究这些不稳定性，可以预测它们的影响，因此可以在海洋模式中将其参数化。海洋模型的改进可以对气候研究产生重要影响，因为赤道海洋在控制气候方面发挥着重要作用。对赤道β平面平行剪切流的对称不稳定性进行了全面的研究，包括了全部的科里奥利力，重点是分层流体的情况。结果将与通常使用的传统贝塔平面近似进行对比。由于科里奥利力的不稳定性可能导致极快的向下混合，这表明传统的近似是非常差的。在陆地环境下，水平尺度小得令人不安，因此在全球海洋环流模型中从未得到解决。因此，正确的动量重分布、向下浮力通量和能量耗散没有得到准确的解释。这项研究将有助于确定这些过程的正确参数。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Small-scale, near-equatorial instabilities are not resolved in ocean models, but their role in developing and maintaining large-scale currents is very important. This examination of equatorial inertial instability will significantly improve the understanding of the role that the instability plays in the destabilization and equilibration of ocean currents in equatorial regions. New theories will also be developed to help advance our knowledge in inertial instability in the near-equatorial regions. By studying these instabilities, their effects can be predicted and, hence, be parameterized in ocean models. Improvement in ocean modeling can have important impact on climate research because of the essential role that the equatorial ocean plays in controlling the climate. A comprehensive study of symmetric instability of parallel shear flows for the equatorial beta-plane will be conducted by incorporating the full Coriolis force with a focus on the stratified fluid cases. Results will be contrasted with the commonly used traditional beta-plane approximation. The potentially extremely rapid downward mixing resulting from the instability with the 'true' Coriolis force suggests that the traditional approximation is a very poor one. Under terrestrian circumstances the horizontal scales are disturbingly small and therefore never resolved in global ocean circulation models. The correct redistribution of momentum, downward buoyancy flux and energy dissipation are thus not accurately accounted for. This research will help in determining the correct parameterizations of these processes.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.