Past exam of the physics of atmospheres and oceans course of the University of Oxford / 2019 / 6 / a / Solution

The underlying principle is material conservation of potential vorticity for adiabatic, inviscid, rotating, stably stratified motion. In the quasi-geostrophic approximation, the leading horizontal velocity is nondivergent and geostrophic:Here $f_0=2\Omega \sin {\varphi }_0$ is the reference Coriolis parameter, $\beta =(df/dy{)}_0=2\Omega \cos {\varphi }_0/a$ on a spherical planet, and $f=f_0+\beta y$. The positive buoyancy frequency squared is $N^2$; in a Boussinesq fluid it is $-(g/{\rho }_0)d\bar{\rho }/dz$. To quasi-geostrophic order the potential vorticity is the background $f_0+\beta y$ plus the stated perturbation $q^{\prime }$.

Linearizing its material derivative about uniform zonal velocity $U$ giveswhich is the supplied equation. The uniform basic flow contributes no relative-vorticity gradient or vertical shear term.

The approximation needs small Rossby number, time scales long compared with $|f_0{|}^{-1}$, vertical hydrostatic balance, stable stratification, small departures from the reference state and meridional extent small enough for a local beta plane. Buoyancy and rotation must balance at the relevant aspect ratio. Friction, diabatic heating and strong nonlinear advection are neglected here. It applies to balanced midlatitude ocean and atmospheric motions; an atmospheric version also requires a consistent reference-density or pressure-coordinate treatment. It fails in a sufficiently near-equatorial region where $f_0$ vanishes.