Roughness-induced effects on the quasi-geostrophic model

International audienceWe study in this paper the effect of small-scale irregularities on the quasi-geostrophic model. This study is motivated by some problems related to oceanography, as the Gulf Stream separation, or the impact of the topography on the global circulation. We first consider the role of coastal roughness in the phenomenon of western intensification of boundary currents. We show that the roughness is responsible for a nonlinear dynamics of the boundary layers, governed by a quasilinear elliptic equation. We thus extend substantially the classical derivation of Munk layers [15] and the results of convergence obtained in [10]. We then discuss the effect of a rough topography, by generalizing and justifying some formal computations of [17]. In particular, we derive rigorously a simplified model of oceanic circulation, with a nonlinear and nonlocal dissipative term due to the roughness