 Double Kelvin-wave adjustment at a depth step

A long disturbance trapped on a depth step is sometimes called a double Kelvin wave. With $H_{+}>H_{-}$, $f>0$ and $c_{\pm }=\sqrt{g{H}_{\pm }}$, cross-step geostrophic balance and the along-step acceleration yield the transport equation shown for a background height jump ${\eta }_0\mathrm{sgn}(x)$. Its zero-initial-amplitude solution is $A={\eta }_0[\mathrm{sgn}(x)-\mathrm{sgn}(x-(c_{+}-c_{-})t)]$. The adjusted region diverts cross-step volume flux along the step; the propagating front still carries flux. This outer approximation does not resolve fast adjustment at the fronts.