12.803
Fall 2008
Hydrostatic balance
Conservation of potential vorticity
The invertibility principle
The shallow water equations
The Rossby number and the quasi-geostrophic equations
Geostrophic adjustment
The superposition principle
Higher-order balance systems
Separation of flow into balanced and unbalanced parts
The “omega equation”
Rossby waves
Barotropic instability
The Rayleigh and Fjørtoft theorems
The Eady model
The Charney model
The Charney-Stern theorem
Surface friction and Ekman Layers
Western Boundary Currents
Effects of phase change of water
Effects of orography: topographic waves
Observed modes of eddy development
Generation and dissipation of ocean eddies
The Eliassen-Palm theorem
Two-dimensional and Quasi-geostrophic turbulence and inverse cascades
The Rhines scale and quasi-balanced jets
Equilibration of baroclinic eddies in the ocean