Instabilities developed in stratified flows over pronounced obstacles

In the present work we study numerical and experimentally the flow of a two-layer stratified fluid over a topographic obstacle. The problem reflects a wide number of oceanographic and meteorological situations, where the stratification plays an important role. We identify the different instabilities developed by studying the pycnocline deformation due to a pronounced obstacle. The numerical simulations were made using the model caffa3D.MB which works with a numerical model of Navier-Stokes equations with finite volume elements in curvilinear meshes. The experimental results are contrasted with numerical simulations. Linear stability analysis predictions are checked with particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements.