Baroclinic tidal conversion: note on a paper of L.R.M. Maas

Abstract

Maas (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 684, 2011, pp. 5–24) showed that, for an oscillating two-dimensional barotropic tide flowing over sub-critical topography of compact support, some topographic forms existed that produced non-radiating baroclinic disturbances. The problem is related to ‘stealth’ and ‘cloaking’ problems. Here Maas's result is derived using a simpler approach, not involving complicated mappings, but formally restricted to perturbation topography. Wider results come from the discussion of nearly compact support topographic disturbances provided by Schwartz functions with weak high-wavenumber radiation and by exploiting both a known functional equation formulation and Fourier methods. The problem is extended to disturbances on uniform slopes. A variety of non-radiating topographies can be found, although they are mathematically delicate and unlikely to be found in nature. Topography with weak radiation at high wavenumber is a much wider class of structures. Application of these solutions would lie with the ability to estimate dissipation over and near the topography from motions observed at a distance.