Circularly polarized inertial wave vectors in rotating fluids

Abstract

The Navier-Stokes equations for a rotating fluid are harmonically analyzed for planar motion in an infinite half-space. All solutions are shown to be a sum of two inertial wave vectors, one circularly polarized to the left (CPL) and the other circularly polarized to the right (CPR). These basic solutions are therefore presented in the same nomenclature and form as that found useful by experimentalists in analyzing flow data (called 'rotary spectra'). The CPL wave acts counter to the Coriolis force and consequently has a slower phase speed and larger damping than the CPR wave. At resonance (forcing frequency = Coriolis frequency) the CPR wave has an infinite phase speed and no damping and is the important component leading to the singular nature of the solutions for certain boundary conditions. All possible resonant singularities are explicitly shown. The unsteady development of these unbounded (limited space structure), cyclic (no time origin or structure) flows is presented to show that with time structure the resonant singularities evolve in a self-similar manner.