Criteria for the nonlinear stability of three—dimensional quasi—geostrophic motions

Some more proper criteria for the nonlinear stability of three-dimensional quasi-geostrophic motions are given by combining variational principle with a prior estimates method. The criteria are suitable for perturbations of initial condition as well as parameters in the model. The basic flow can be steady or unsteady. Particularly the difficulty due to the nonlinear boundary condition is completely overcome by the use of our method.