Effects of rotation on stability of viscous stationary flows on a spherical surface

We study the incompressible viscous fluid flows within a thin rotating atmospheric shell. The model uses the two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations on a spherical surface and serves as a simple mathematical description of a general atmospheric circulation caused by the difference in temperature between the equator and the poles. Linearized stability of a particular stationary flow is considered. Under the assumption of no friction and a distribution of temperature dependent only upon latitude, the stationary flow models a zonal distribution of pressure corresponding to atmospheric currents parallel to the circles of latitude. We prove analytically that the stationary flow is asymptotically stable in the time evolution of the Navier-Stokes equations. When the spherical surface is truncated between two symmetrical rings near the North and South Poles, the asymptotic stability of the stationary flow is verified numerically. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3526687]