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Rossby wave equilibria and zonal jets

Peter B. Weichman
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Abstract

The problem of coherent vortex and zonal jet formation in a system of nonlinear Rossby waves is considered from the point of view of the late time steady state achieved by free decay of a given initial state. Statistical equilibrium equations respecting all conservation laws are constructed, generalizing those derived previously for 2D inviscid Euler flow. Jet-like solutions are ubiquitous, with large coherent vortices existing only when there is uniform background flow with the precise velocity to cancel the beta effect.

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Peter B. Weichman. 2005-08-05. Rossby wave equilibria and zonal jets. https://arxiv.org/abs/cond-mat/0508168

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