Numerical Experiments on the Formation Mechanism of Abyssal Current in the Japan Sea

To understand the roles of baroclinic instability and bottom slope in the formation mechanism of abyssal current in the Japan Sea，numerical experiments were performed with two layer model．It was found that in the first stage，baroclinic instability plays a role to generate barotropic eddies，and in the second stage, barotropic eddies cascade up to larger scales due to nature of two-dimensional turbulence．Bottom slope affects in the latter stage. Because barotropic potential vorticity is almost conserved in this stage，vorticity is negative(positive) on shallower(deeper) region as a result of eddy stiring of fluid particle. Consequently，current with shallower region on his right is formed