Abstract
It is shown that the very frequently used form of the viscous, diabatic shallow-water equations are energetically inconsistent compared to the primitive equations. An energetically consistent form of the shallow-water equations is then given and justified in terms of isopycnal coordinates. Examples are given of the energetically inconsistent shallow-water equations used in low-order dynamical systems and simplified coupled models of tropical air–sea interaction and the E1 Niño–Southern Oscillation phenomena.
