Geometry, angular momentum and the intrinsic drift of oceanic monopolar vortices

Abstract

The intrinsic westward drift of oceanic monopolar vortices is explained in terms of angular momentum dynamics. In turn, the physical origin of this is shown to reside in the broken spherical symmetry of the fluid dynamics on a rotating planet. This is done developing and applying a slight generalization of Noether's theorem. As a preliminary, the gravitational field of a rotating planet is analyzed in detail.