Stability of non-parallel stratified shear flows (Q1901577)

The authors have analyzed the linear stability of non-parallel stratified shear flows to normal mode disturbances. It is known that, unlike the parallel flows, in a non-parallel flow the components of Reynolds stress can transfer energy from the basic flow to the disturbance. Generalization of Miles formula for the vertical variation of Reynolds stresses and Eliassen-Palm theorem are obtained. The authors discuss the reduction of the normal mode stability problem for non-parallel flows to the normal mode stability problem for parallel flows by the introduction of suitable transformation. The paper can be considered as a valuable contribution to the literature on nonparallel stratified shear flows.