Wind-induced inertial oscillations in a linearly stratified sea

Abstract

An analytical solution is presented for the excitation by wind of baroclinic inertia-gravitational motions in a linearly stratified, uniformly rotating sea of great depth. The equations used allow for the vertical mixing of thermal properties as well as momentum, and describe the motion of small perturbations about a linearly stratified basic state of rest. In this development, the Coriolis parameter, the Brunt-Väisälä frequency, and the vertical exchange coefficient are all assumed to be constants. The solution for the horizontal velocity is expressed in terms of an integral convolution of the wind stress vector; the convolution involved a three-fold integral with respect to horizontal separation and time lapse. In order to determine the response to a wind pulse applied at a given instant of time a concentrated point on the sea surface, the Green's functions representing the kernels of the integral solutions are investigated. ...