Abstract
Barotropic flows in a circular ocean are studied. Flows are driven by an inflow and an outflow through openings at the circumference. A linear, steady state solution is interpreted in terms of dissipating planetary waves. A weakly nonlinear, steady state solution is obtained numerically. It differs remarkably from the linear solution; an intense anticyclonic polar gyre extending over the whole basin is formed. The nonlinear term is essential to the gyre and can not be neglected, although the Rossby number is small.
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Sakai, S., Imawaki, S. Notes on linear and nonlinear barotropic flows in a polar circular basin. Journal of the Oceanographical Society of Japan 37, 287–293 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02070583
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02070583