A theory of semigeostrophic gravity waves and its application to the intrusion of a density current along a coast - Part 2. Intrusion of a density current along a coast in a rotating fluid

The intrusion of a density current along a coast in a rotating fluid is investigated both theoretically and experimentally. The theoretical model is a shock wave solution of a semigeostrophic gravity wave which was investigated in Part 1 (Kubokawa and Hanawa, 1984). In the experimental results, the propagation speed of the leading edge of light fluid along a vertical boundary and the current width and depth are nearly equal to those estimated by the shock wave theory. The generation of a frontal wave at the leading edge of the density current is observed. The propagation velocity of these frontal waves agrees well with that of theoretically-predicted semigeostrophic gravity waves.