Abstract
The basic theoretical framework is presented for the study of the stochastic atmospheric forcing of barotropic quasi-geostrophic oceanic eddies. The governing equation is the linearized potential vorticity equation with a stationary stochastic forcing function representing random fluctuations in the atmospheric windstress curl. The frequency autospectrum of the response and the frequency cross-spectrum between forcing and response are spatial convolutions of the frequency spectrum of the forcing with the Green’s function of the potential vorticity equation. Coherence maps have been calculated for simple geometries (meridional channel or infinite ocean) and simple forcing spectra (Gaussian or white in wavenumber space). They reproduce basic features of observed coherence maps. The major open question is whether the more complex structure of the observed maps is due to the more complex structure of the forcing spectrum or due to the processes neglected in the potential vorticity equation.
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© 1996 Birkhäuser Boston
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Müller, P. (1996). Stochastic forcing of quasi-geostrophic eddies. In: Adler, R.J., Müller, P., Rozovskii, B.L. (eds) Stochastic Modelling in Physical Oceanography. Progress in Probability, vol 39. Birkhäuser Boston. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-2430-3_14
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-2430-3_14
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