UC San Diego

We consider the slow motion generated when a body is set into motion relative to an incompressible, inviscid, non-diffusive rotating stratified fluid, showing that there is generated in general a topographic Rossby wave which leads to non-decaying fluctuations in the lift on the obstacle and a fluctuating non-zero drag. The problem is relevant to the flow patterns and forces excited when slow oceanic flows cross bottom topography, and suggests a mechanism for slow fluctuations observed in laboratory experiments.