Nonlinear viscous fluid patterns in a thin rotating spherical domain and applications

We study the nonlinear incompressible fluid flows within a thin rotating spherical shell. The model uses the two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations on a rotating three-dimensional spherical surface and serves as a simple mathematical descriptor of a general atmospheric circulation caused by the difference in temperature between the equator and the poles. Coriolis effects are generated by pseudoforces, which support the stable west-to-east flows providing the achievable meteorological flows rotating around the poles. This work addresses exact stationary and non-stationary solutions associated with the nonlinear Navier-Stokes. The exact solutions in terms of elementary functions for the associated Euler equations (zero viscosity) found in our earlier work are extended to the exact solutions of the Navier-Stokes equations (non-zero viscosity). The obtained solutions are expressed in terms of elementary functions, analyzed, and visualized. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3665132]