Author(s)

P.J. Montgomery & T.B. Hoodie

Abstract

The steady-state propagation of cold domes of dense fluid lying beneath a layer of less dense fluid and overlying a sloping bottom have been studied previously by Nof [I]. Such research is important in improving the under- standing of heat and mass transport in the oceans, and much of the present- day understanding relies on the assumption that the flow is in geostrophic balance. Such an assumption is not valid either when inertial effects in the flow dominate, or when the flow is near the equator. The research presented concerns the initial release problem of a finite volume of dense fluid underlying a deeper layer of less dense fluid. The flow is modelled by the shallow-water equations in three spatial dimensions which are expressed as a system of nonlinear hyperbolic conservation laws. Numerical solutions are achi

Keywords