Remarks on the derivation of the hydrostatic Euler equations

The motion of an inviscid incompressible fluid between two horizontal plates is studied in the limit when the plates are infinitesimally close. The convergence of the solutions of the Euler equations to those of their formal 'hydrostatic' limit can be established in the case when the initial velocity field satisfies a local Rayleigh conditions. This result, originally obtained by Grenier through weighted energy estimates based on Arnold's stability analysis of the Euler equations, is proven here by a more straightforward method even closer to Arnold's method. (C) 2003 Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.