Inertial wave

An inertial wave is a rotating-fluid wave restored by the Coriolis force. Its frequency depends on the angle between its wavevector and the rotation axis.

In a uniform-density incompressible flow inside a smooth rigid sphere rotating at angular speed $\Omega$, a normal mode with phase $e^{i\sigma t+im\varphi }$ has intrinsic frequency $s=\sigma +m\Omega$. For $s\ne 0,\pm 2\Omega$, eliminating velocity from the linearized Euler equations gives the displayed pressure equation, with $W=p^{\prime }/\rho$. Impermeability gives $R{W}_R+(2m\Omega /s)W+(1-4{\Omega }^2/s^2)z{W}_z=0$ on the sphere. There is no condition $W=0$: the rigid wall supplies variable normal pressure. These inertial waves are restored by Coriolis acceleration, and their pressure equation is hyperbolic for $|s|<2|\Omega |$.

For an axisymmetric normal mode in a rigid rotating sphere, substitute $W=z(A{R}^2+B{z}^2+C)$ into the pressure equation and its impermeability condition. With $\beta =1-4{\Omega }^2/{\sigma }^2$, the interior equation gives $2A+3\beta B=0$. The boundary polynomial gives $3\beta B=(2+\beta )A$ and $\beta C=-(2+\beta )A{r}_0^2$. A nontrivial oscillatory solution has $\beta =-4$, hence the displayed frequency and $B=A/6$, $C=-A{r}_0^2/2$. It satisfies both equations identically.