We consider a uniform-density ocean in which the depth-independent horizontal velocity is driven by a two-gyre wind. Numerical solutions of the governing vorticity equation reveal that the solutions with a flat ocean bottom differ greatly from those in which a continental shelf and slope are present along the western boundary. In the ocean basin with a western continental shelf, steady inertial circulations readily lose stability to unsteady inertial circulations that spawn eddies.
展开▼