Oceanic Rings and Jets as Statistical Equilibrium States
Oceanic Rings and Jets as Statistical Equilibrium States
Abstract Equilibrium statistical mechanics of two-dimensional flows provides an explanation and a prediction for the self-organization of large-scale coherent structures. This theory is applied in this paper to the description of oceanic rings and jets, in the framework of a 1.5-layer quasigeostrophic model. The theory predicts the spontaneous formation of …