Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 333 4 iv Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Put , and take . The constant-depth ocean transport streamfunction equation isIt is a steady advection-diffusion equation for the transport response, with westward pseudovelocity. For an unbounded domain the point-forced Sverdrup–drag Green function can make its contours precise. Set and . Thenwhere is the Modified Bessel function of the second kind. This optional explicit expression is used only to produce the requested sketch; no weak-drag assumption is imposed.
Near the source the logarithmic singularity produces almost circular contours. At distances large compared with , , so the response is proportional to . It decays exponentially eastward, but only algebraically on the western axis; its broad western wake has transverse width of order . Contours are stretched westward, with closed finite-level contours around the source and sharper eastern gradients. Larger drag broadens the scale and makes any fixed nearby view more nearly circular. For the elliptic smoothing disappears; for the infinite-plane response is logarithmic up to a gauge and cannot be fixed by a zero-at-infinity condition.
