Near-Inertial Pollard Waves Modeling the Arctic Halocline

Abstract

We present an explicit and exact solution to the governing equations describing the vertical structure of the Arctic Ocean region centred around the North Pole. The solution describes a stratified water column with three constant-density regions: a motionless bottom layer, a middle layer -- the halocline -- described by nonhydrostatic, near-inertial Pollard waves, and an upper layer presenting a mean current and a wave motion associated with the one in the halocline layer.