Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2012 / iii / Paper 61 / 2 / ii / Solution

The steady incompressible shearing sheet equation isThe final term follows from the local tidal potential $-\Omega S{x}^2$. For the given linear velocity, the advective acceleration is $-\alpha \beta (x{\mathbf{e}}_x+y{\mathbf{e}}_y)$, while the Coriolis acceleration is $2\Omega \beta x{\mathbf{e}}_x+2\Omega \alpha y{\mathbf{e}}_y$. Equating components givesThe cross derivatives vanish, so the pressure Hessian of an elliptical shearing-sheet vortex integrates toThe additive constant is fixed by exterior matching or the pressure reference. No zero-pressure free-boundary condition is imposed on an incompressible vortex patch: it is embedded in a surrounding fluid.