A strait at latitude is wide and carries an along-strait current in geostrophic…

PHYSICS · Multi-part · Fermi University Physics · Fluids & Continuum Physics · Convection, rotation and geophysical flows · Convection, rotation and geophysical flows

Fluid Dynamics, Ch Rotating fluids: geostrophy, Taylor columns and Ekman layers

Problem

A strait at latitude

40^\circ\mathrm{N}

50\,\mathrm{km}

wide and carries an along-strait current in geostrophic balance with a sea-surface pressure difference of

2.5\,\mathrm{hPa}

across its

50\,\mathrm{km}

width. Take the seawater density as

1025\,\mathrm{kg\,m^{-3}}

. ((a)) Assuming geostrophic balance, find the current speed, and state on which side of the strait the pressure is higher if the current flows east. ((b)) Using this speed as

U

and the strait's width as

L

, compute the Rossby number of the current and comment on whether geostrophic balance is self-consistent here.

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