Print Email Facebook Twitter Angular momentum dynamics and the intrinsic drift of monopolar vortices on a rotating sphere Title Angular momentum dynamics and the intrinsic drift of monopolar vortices on a rotating sphere Author Van der Toorn, R. Zimmerman, J.T.F. Faculty Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science Department Microelectronics & Computer Engineering Date 2010-08-30 Abstract On the basis of the angular momentum equation for a fluid shell on a rotating planet, we analyze the intrinsic drift of a monopolar vortex in the shell. Central is the development of a general angular momentum equation for Eulerian fluid mechanics based on coordinate-free, general tensorial representations of the underlying fluid dynamics on the one hand, and an appropriate representation of the Lie algebra so(3) of rotations on the other hand. We show that angular momentum fluid dynamics concisely describes the motion of vortices along the sphere and explains why both geostrophic cyclones and anticyclones drift in retrograde direction (westward), why anticyclones do so faster than cyclones, and why this difference is enhanced by a cyclostrophic correction. Technically, the analysis is based on a tensorial representation of the integral angular momentum equation for the fluid shell as a whole, and, derived from this, a coordinate representation with respect to coordinates which may move with the vortex along the surface of the planet. Depicting the angular momentum balance of cyclones and anticyclones in terms of vector diagrams, we present an overview of the results achieved. Subject angular momentumastrophysical fluid dynamicsintegral equationsLie algebrasvectorsvortices To reference this document use: http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:12a02f0d-0764-4266-8d66-9e4d05295621 DOI https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3455315 Publisher American Institute of Physics ISSN 0022-2488 Source http://link.aip.org/link/JMAPAQ/v51/i8/p083102/s1 Source Journal of Mathematical Physics, 51 (8), 2010 Part of collection Institutional Repository Document type journal article Rights (c) 2010 Van der Toorn, R.; Zimmerman, J.T.F.; American Institute of Physics Files PDF vanderToorn_2010.pdf 378.85 KB Close viewer /islandora/object/uuid:12a02f0d-0764-4266-8d66-9e4d05295621/datastream/OBJ/view