Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2026/ib/paper-4/16a/solution

Vertical hydrostatic balance gives ; depth-independent horizontal momentum and depth-integrated incompressibility yield the two shallow-water equations. Curling momentum and combining with mass conservation gives . Dot momentum with and use continuity to obtain with and . It is kinetic plus gravitational potential energy. A no-normal-flow boundary kills the flux and conserves its integral; a localized nonuniform height has excess positive energy relative to the uniform rest state with the same mass, so it cannot decay to that state without dissipation.

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