Articles | Volume 20, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/npg-20-25-2013
© Author(s) 2013. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.Inertia–gravity waves generated by near balanced flow in 2-layer shallow water turbulence on the β-plane
Abstract. Using a fine resolution numerical model (40002 × 2 grid-points) of the two-layer shallow-water equations of the mid-latitude β-plane dynamics, it is shown that there is no sudden breakdown of balance in the turbulent enstrophy cascade but a faint and continuous emission of inertia–gravity waves. The wave energy accumulates in the equator-ward region of the domain due to the Coriolis parameter depending on the latitude and dispersion relation of inertia–gravity waves.