On the “genetic memory” of chaotic attractor of the barotropic ocean model

The structure of attractor of barotropic ocean model is studied in this paper. Theorems of the existence of the attractor for the finite dimensional approximation of this model are proved as well as its convergence to the attractor of the model itself. Some properties of stationary solutions of this model and their stability are discussed. The structure of the attractor is partially explained by the sequence of bifurcations the system is subjected to by variations of leading parameters. The principal feature of the studied system is the existence of two “almost invariant” basins of chaotic attractor with very rare transitions between them. This is related to the rise of a couple of non-symmetric stable stationary solutions in the model with symmetric forcing. The “memory” of chaos appears also in the presence of maxima in the spectrum of energy. These maxima correspond either to the principal frequency of the limit cycle which arose in the Hopf bifurcation, or to the frequencies of the Feigenbaum phenomenon.