Abstract
Within the framework of the reduced-gravity model of the ocean taking into account the effect of friction in the Rayleigh form, we study the two-dimensional problem of nonlinear motions of a subsurface front of finite width. We consider the conservation laws and the character of motion of the center-of-mass of the cross section of the front and their variations caused by the losses of energy. For fields with special structure, the problem is reduced to the solution of a system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations. It is shown that the initially geostrophic frontal current decays with time according to a power law. The deviations of the initial state of the front from the state of geostrophic balance result in the generation of superinertial oscillations of the hydrodynamic fields.
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Dotsenko, S.F., Rubino, A. & Brandt, P. Some General Properties of Transverse Motions of the Geostrophic Front. Physical Oceanography 13, 189–200 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025837732698
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025837732698