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Linear viscous stability theory for stably stratified shear flow: A review

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Abstract

In this paper the linear viscous stability theory for stably stratified parallel shear flow is reviewed and some new results are presented. Attention is focused on recent work on unbounded flows with emphasis placed on results which demonstrate apparent destabilizing effects of diffusivity which lie beyond the scope of inviscid theory. In particular it is shown that self-excited disturbances may exist with phase speeds lying outside the range of basic flow speed and that with strong thermal diffusivity, instability may occur even though the local Richardson number exceeds 0.25 throughout the flow.

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  1. Graduate Meteorology Program, Institute for Fluid Dynamics and Applied Mathematics, The University of Maryland, College Park, Md., USA

    Kenneth S. Gage

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  1. Kenneth S. Gage
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Gage, K.S. Linear viscous stability theory for stably stratified shear flow: A review. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 5, 3–17 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02188307

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02188307

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