Invariant manifolds and the initialization problem for some atmospheric equations (Q1088533)

This paper tackles the initialization problem for atmospheric equations. This is to choose initial conditions in such a way that certain rapid oscillations do not appear in the solution, which then only contain the physically interesting slower motions. The paper approaches the problem in an abstract way, but presents a number of concrete examples. Its main application is to a nine- dimensional atmospheric model, considered by Lorenz, of shallow water equations with bottom topography. The paper reveals the underlying structure of this system, although the initial attempt to apply ''invariant manifold'' theory fails. One cannot be sure that the full dynamics are a perturbation of the slower motions. Further investigation of the theory of ''invariant manifolds'' allows the author to prove a more general result, which is strong enough to be applied to the underlying equations in Lorenz's model.