On residual velocities in sigma coordinates in narrow tidal channels

In shallow coastal regions where water surface fluctuations are non-negligible compared to the mean water depth,the use of sigma coordinates allows the calculation of residual velocity around the mean water surface level.Theoretical analysis and generic numerical experiments were conducted to understand the physical meaning of the residual velocities at sigma layers in breadth-averaged tidal channels.For shallow water waves,the sigma layers coincide with the water wave surfaces within the water column such that the Stokes velocity and its vertical and horizontal components can be expressed in discrete forms using the sigma velocity.The residual velocity at a sigma layer is the sum of the Eulerian velocity and the vertical component of the Stokes velocity at the mean depth of the sigma layer and,therefore,can be referred to as a semi-Lagrangian residual velocity.Because the vertical component of the Stokes velocity is one order of magnitude smaller than the horizontal component,the sigma residual velocity approximates the Eulerian residual velocity.The residual transport velocity at a sigma layer is the sum of the sigma residual velocity and the horizontal component of the Stokes velocity and approximates the Lagrangian residual velocity in magnitude and direction,but the two residual velocities are not conceptually the same.

Characteristics of a Terrain-Following Sigma Coordinate

This study quantifies the main characteristics of a terrain-following, G-coordinate through mathematical analyses of its covariant and contravariant basis vectors as well as the vertical coordinate of σ. A 3-D schematic of the σ-coordinate in a curvilinear coordinate system is provided in this study. The characteristics of the basis vectors were broken down into their ＂local vector charac- teristics＂ and ＂spatial distribution characteristics＂, and the exact expressions of the covariant; in addition, the con- travariant basis vectors of the G-coordinate used to eluci- date their detailed characteristics were properly solved. Through rewriting the expression of the vertical coordi- nate of G, a mathematical expression of all the cr-coor- dinate surfaces was found, thereby quantifying the so- called terrain-following characteristics and lack of flexi- bility to adjust the slope variation of G-coordinate sur- faces for the classic definition of G. Finally, an analysis on the range value of the vertical coordinate demonstrated that the general value range of G could be obtained by eliminating the G-coordinate surfaces below the Earth＇s surface. All these quantitative descriptions of the charac- teristics of G-coordinate were the foundation for improv- ing the G-coordinate or creating a new one.

Baroclinic pressure gradient difference schemes of subtracting the local averaged density stratification in sigma coordinates models

Much has been written of the error in computing the baroclinic pressure gradient (BPG) with sigma coordinates in ocean or atmospheric numerical models. The usual way to reduce the error is to subtract area-averaged density stratification of the whole computation region. But if there is great difference between the area-averaged and the local averaged density stratification, the error will be obvious. An example is given to show that the error from this method may be larger than that from no correction sometimes. The definition of local area is put forward. Then, four improved BPG difference schemes of subtracting the local averaged density stratification are designed to reduce the error. Two of them are for diagnostic calculation (density field is fixed), and the others are for prognostic calculation (density field is not fixed). The results show that the errors from these schemes all significantly decrease.

A New Approach to Implement Sigma Coordinate in a Numerical Model

This study shows a new way to implement terrain-following s-coordinate in a numerical model,which does not lead to the well-known"pressure gradient force(PGF)"problem.First,the causes of the PGF problemare analyzedwith existing methods that are categorized into two different types based on the causes.Then,the new method that bypasses the PGF problem all together is proposed.By comparing these threemethods and analyzing the expression of the scalar gradient in a curvilinear coordinate system,this study finds out that only when using the covariant scalar equations of s-coordinate will the PGF computational form have one term in each momentum component equation,thereby avoiding the PGF problem completely.A convenient way of implementing the covariant scalar equations of s-coordinate in a numerical atmospheric model is illustrated,which is to set corresponding parameters in the scalar equations of the Cartesian coordinate.Finally,two idealized experimentsmanifest that the PGF calculated with the new method is more accurate than using the classic one.This method can be used for oceanic models as well,and needs to be tested in both the atmospheric and oceanic models.

Geometric sigma model of the Universe

The purpose of this work is to demonstrate how an arbitrarily chosen background of the Universe can be made a solution of a simple geometric sigma model.Geometric sigma models are purely geometric theories in which spacetime coordinates are seen as scalar fields coupled to gravity.Although they look like ordinary sigma models,they have the peculiarity that their complete matter content can be gauged away.The remaining geometric theory possesses a background solution that is predefined in the process of constructing the theory.The fact that background configuration is specified in advance is another peculiarity of geometric sigma models.In this paper,I construct geometric sigma models based on different background geometries of the Universe.Whatever background geometry is chosen,the dynamics of its small perturbations is shown to have a generic classical stability.This way,any freely chosen background metric is made a stable solution of a simple model.Three particular models of the Universe are considered as examples of how this is done in practice.