Numerical computation of instabilities and internal waves from in situ measurements via the viscous taylor–goldstein problem

Abstract

We explore numerical methods for the stability analysis of stratified, parallel shear flows consid-ering the effects of small-scale turbulence represented by eddy viscosity and diffusivity. The result is an extension of the classical Taylor–Goldstein problem applicable to oceanic and atmospheric flows. Solutions with imaginary frequency describe shear and convective instabilities, whereas those with real frequency represent internal gravity waves. Application to large observational datasets can involve considerable computation and therefore requires a compromise between speed and accuracy. We compare several numerical methods to identify optimal approaches to various problems.