Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2026/iii/paper-333/4/d/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2026 iii Paper 333 4 d Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
Every forced propagating mode must have the imposed zonal frequencyFor , only the Equatorial Kelvin wave has the correct sign. Upward group velocity in the fluid selectsWith , its pressure field can be writtenHere , , and the complex vertical-velocity amplitude isThe lower boundary is matched only ifafter choosing the phase of to make the prescribed cosine amplitude real.
For , the upward-radiating Equatorial Rossby waves haveChoose each pair as in part c for this . The propagating sum isThe other fields follow mode by mode from part c and . Thus the boundary matching condition is
For , the space of upward-radiating wave profiles is only the one-dimensional Gaussian Kelvin profile, so a generic cannot be matched by propagating waves. Its Kelvin projection radiates upward; the remaining forcing produces a balanced, vertically evanescent response trapped near the lower boundary. This is the equatorial analogue of the fact that quasi-geostrophic Rossby waves have westward rather than eastward phase propagation.
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