Experimental Simulation of Local External Forcing of the Contained Rotating Flow

• Published in: Pada (Hanʼguk Haeyang Hakhoe) Vol. 5; no. 2; pp. 77 - 85
• Main Authors: Na, J-Y, Yi, C-W
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Korean
• Published: 01.01.2000
• Subjects: Marine
• ISSN: 1226-2978

Simulation of local external forcing and its response in the rotation table experiment has been investigated. Spatially-uniform external forcings have been applied in many experimental studies, however, based on the fact that the north-south distribution of the wind-stress curl and the existence of local maximum of the sea surface heat loss in the northern part of the East Sea, new method of combined effects of local forcings has been employed in separate experiments. Carefully designed local source or sink at the bottom of the cylindrical container can produce horizontal pressure gradient within the Ekman layer, and consequently the interior also attains the same pressure gradient that produces geostrophic interior circulation. In order to keep free surface during the local-surface cooling, a side-wall cooling method is suggested. For the various type of local forcing including the effects local cooling and the periodic change of local wind-stress curl, western-boundary flow in terms of its strength, position of separation from the boundary have been observed.