Restrictions and Alternative Formulation of the Quasi-Geostrophic Barotropic Channel Model

Abstract

We derive for a channel model a meridional boundary condition that is equivalent to Phillip's one, but is simpler to implement. We then show that the presence of Ekman dissipation in a quasi-geostrophic channel model with rigid lateral walls, combined with Phillip's boundary conditions, implies the presence of a uniform forcing throughout the channel. We also find a new constraint on the initial field. We finally proposed an alternative formulation to the model using our meridional boundary condition.