ESS228
Prof. Jin-Yi Yu
Kelvin
Waves
•A Kelvin wave is a type of low-frequency gravity wave in
the ocean or atmosphere
that balances the Earth's Coriolis force against a topographic boundary such as a coastline, or a waveguide such as the
equator.
•Therefore, there are two types of Kelvin waves: coastal
and equatorial.
•A feature of a Kelvin wave is that it is non-dispersive,
i.e., the phase speed of the wave
crests is equal to the group speed of the wave energy for all frequencies.
X
Y
Governing Equations
A unique boundary condition