Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-topics-in-fluid-mechanics-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2023/1/b/ii/solution

Define . The linearization about gives
The Galilean transformation , has and . It removes the leading advection, leaving
For a normal mode proportional to , the second and fourth derivatives contribute and . The dispersion relation is therefore
For and , the unstable wavenumbers satisfy . In the laboratory coordinates, the temporal exponent is , so this linear stability calculation predicts growth together with downslope transport at dimensionless speed .

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