A consistent formulation of the anisotropic stress tensor for use in models of the large-scale ocean circulation

Journal Article · Thu Apr 01 00:00:00 EST 1993 · Journal of Computational Physics; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1006/jcph.1993.1079· OSTI ID:5543191

Wajsowicz, R C ^[1]

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1. Hokkaido Univ. Sapporo (Japan)

Subgrid-scale dissipation of momentum in numerical models of the large-scale ocean circulation is commonly parameterized as a viscous diffusion resulting from the divergence of a stress tensor of the form [omega] = Au. The form of the fourth-order coefficient tensor A is derived for anisotropic dissipation with an axis of rotational symmetry. Sufficient conditions for A to be positive definite for incompressible flows, so guaranteeing a net positive dissipation of kinetic energy, are found. The divergence of the stress tensor, in Cartesian and spherical polar coordinates, is given for A with constant and spatially varying elements. A consistent form of A and [omega] for use in models based on the Arakawa B- and C-grids is also derived. 16 refs.

• OSTI ID: 5543191
• Journal Information: Journal of Computational Physics; (United States), Vol. 105:2; ISSN 0021-9991
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS//MATHEMATICS, COMPUTING, AND INFORMATION SCIENCE
GENERAL CIRCULATION MODELS
TENSORS
OCEANIC CIRCULATION
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
CLIMATE MODELS
DIFFUSION
NUMERICAL SOLUTION
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
SIMULATION
540310* - Environment
Aquatic- Basic Studies- (1990-)
990200 - Mathematics & Computers