The Evolution of Sub-Mesoscale, Coherent Vortices on the beta-Plane

An investigation is made of the evolution of small-scale, axisymmetric vortices in a stratified fluid with spatially variable Coriolis parameter. The criteria for smallness are a horizontal scale less than or equal to the first internal radius of deformation and a vertical scale less than or equal to that of the ambient stratification. These circumstances match those of Sub-mesoscale, Coherent Vortices frequently observed in the oceans. The dynamical model is the balance equations, which include various effects of finite Rossby number. The principal topics are the regime of nearly uniform propagation, the development of an equilibrium ratio of vertical and horizontal scales (i.e., Burger number selection), and the occurrence of various types of instability for vortices with extremes in amplitude or shape.