Wave action and wave-mean flow interaction, with application to stratified shear flows
Abstract
The theory of wave action and of wave/mean-flow interactions is reviewed, and its application to fluid mechanics is illustrated. The Lagrangian formulation of the motion equations is used to derive a general theory. A radiation stress tensor is introduced, and its function in the wave-energy and mean-flow equations is evaluated. Application to fluids is achieved via the generalized Lagrangian-mean formulation of Andrews and McIntyre (1978) and deonstrated for the case of internal gravity waves in a stratified shear flow. The emphasis is on the application technique rather than the specific results.
- Publication:
-
Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics
- Pub Date:
- 1984
- DOI:
- 10.1146/annurev.fl.16.010184.000303
- Bibcode:
- 1984AnRFM..16...11G
- Keywords:
-
- Gravity Waves;
- Shear Flow;
- Stratified Flow;
- Wave Interaction;
- Brunt-Vaisala Frequency;
- Coriolis Effect;
- Flow Equations;
- Stratosphere;
- Variational Principles;
- Wave Equations;
- Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer;
- WAVES;
- THEORY;
- REVIEWS