A consistent-splitting generalized scalar auxiliary variable scheme for the perturbed Boussinesq system

We propose and analyze a second-order consistent-splitting scheme, based on the generalized scalar auxiliary variable (GSAV) approach, for the two-dimensional perturbed Boussinesq system.

The system is obtained by subtracting a stable, linearly stratified hydrostatic equilibrium from the standard Boussinesq system.

The time discretization extends the consistent-splitting generalized BDF2 framework of Huang and Shen [17] for the Navier-Stokes equations, treating the nonlinear convection and advection together with the linear buoyancy and stratification couplings explicitly, so that each time step reduces to a small number of decoupled linear systems.

We prove an unconditional weak stability theorem for the GSAV scheme and derive optimal second-order error estimates for the velocity, pressure, and temperature.

A careful tracing reveals that the error constant depends on the inverse viscosity and inverse thermal diffusivity through a quadruply-nested exponential, so the scheme is not robust as either tends to zero.

Numerical experiments confirm the second-order convergence and reproduce the expected internal-wave dynamics and exponential relaxation toward hydrostatic balance in a long-time stratified-flow simulation.