On the Coriolis Effect for Internal Ocean Waves

Abstract

Abstract. A derivation of the Ostrovsky equation for internal waves with methods of the Hamiltonian water wave dynamics is presented. The internal wave formed at a pycnocline or thermocline in the ocean is influenced by the Coriolis force of the Earth's rotation. The Ostrovsky equation arises in the long waves and small amplitude approximation and for certain geophysical scales of the physical variables.

Hamiltonian description of internal ocean waves with Coriolis force

“…In this work we examine the Coriolis effect on the internal wave propagation following the idea of "nearly" Hamiltonian approach, developed in series of previous papers like [14,9,8,33] and generalising the Hamiltonian approach of Zakharov [50]. The aim of the paper is to illustrate the mathematical usefulness of the Hamiltonian approach in a systematic study of the internal wave propagation, rather than to present new equations on internal waves.…”