 Rossby-wave PV mixing and zonal momentum

In zonally averaged barotropic quasi-geostrophic approximation flow with zero mean meridional transport, the Taylor identity for quasi-geostrophic flux relates the meridional potential vorticity flux to the convergence of Reynolds stress. A local downgradient closure $\overline{v^{\prime }{q}^{\prime }}=-\kappa {\overline{Q}}_y$, with $\kappa \ge 0$, therefore gives westward mean acceleration where the background gradient is positive. Rossby wave breaking can stir PV into fine filaments; coarse-graining or weak diffusion produces the inferred mixing. Globally the momentum-flux convergence integrates to boundary stresses, so localized westward changes need compensating transport or momentum changes elsewhere in an isolated system.