Near-Inertial Pollard Waves Modeling the Arctic Halocline

Abstract: We present an explicit and exact solution to the governing equations describing the vertical structure of the Arctic Ocean region centered around the North Pole. The solution describes a stratified water column with three constant-density regions: a motionless bottom layer, a middle layer - the halocline - described by nonhydrostatic, near-inertial Pollard waves, and an upper layer presenting a mean current and a wave motion associated with the one in the halocline layer.