A FRICTIONAL SUBLAYER FOR WESTERN BOUNDARY CURRENTS

It is shown that under conditions of low beta effect and weak lateral friction, a frictional boundary layer without a reverse flow can form on the coastal side of a decelerating, positively directed, inertial, western boundary current. However, no such boundary layer is possible if the western boundary current is accelerating. This behaviour is shown to be consistent with specific momentum arguments and provides a complementary explanation to an earlier explanation of the location of western boundary current relative to the coastline.