scholarly journals Dynamics of Convectively Driven Banded Jets in the Laboratory

2007 ◽  
Vol 64 (11) ◽  
pp. 4031-4052 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter L. Read ◽  
Yasuhiro H. Yamazaki ◽  
Stephen R. Lewis ◽  
Paul D. Williams ◽  
Robin Wordsworth ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Turbulent Flows ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Zonal Flow ◽  
Inertial Range ◽  
Instability Criterion ◽  
Rossby Wave Breaking ◽  
Outer Planets ◽  
Zonal Jets ◽  
Geostrophic Turbulence

Abstract The banded organization of clouds and zonal winds in the atmospheres of the outer planets has long fascinated observers. Several recent studies in the theory and idealized modeling of geostrophic turbulence have suggested possible explanations for the emergence of such organized patterns, typically involving highly anisotropic exchanges of kinetic energy and vorticity within the dissipationless inertial ranges of turbulent flows dominated (at least at large scales) by ensembles of propagating Rossby waves. The results from an attempt to reproduce such conditions in the laboratory are presented here. Achievement of a distinct inertial range turns out to require an experiment on the largest feasible scale. Deep, rotating convection on small horizontal scales was induced by gently and continuously spraying dense, salty water onto the free surface of the 13-m-diameter cylindrical tank on the Coriolis platform in Grenoble, France. A “planetary vorticity gradient” or “β effect” was obtained by use of a conically sloping bottom and the whole tank rotated at angular speeds up to 0.15 rad s−1. Over a period of several hours, a highly barotropic, zonally banded large-scale flow pattern was seen to emerge with up to 5–6 narrow, alternating, zonally aligned jets across the tank, indicating the development of an anisotropic field of geostrophic turbulence. Using particle image velocimetry (PIV) techniques, zonal jets are shown to have arisen from nonlinear interactions between barotropic eddies on a scale comparable to either a Rhines or “frictional” wavelength, which scales roughly as (β/Urms)−1/2. This resulted in an anisotropic kinetic energy spectrum with a significantly steeper slope with wavenumber k for the zonal flow than for the nonzonal eddies, which largely follows the classical Kolmogorov k−5/3 inertial range. Potential vorticity fields show evidence of Rossby wave breaking and the presence of a “hyperstaircase” with radius, indicating instantaneous flows that are supercritical with respect to the Rayleigh–Kuo instability criterion and in a state of “barotropic adjustment.” The implications of these results are discussed in light of zonal jets observed in planetary atmospheres and, most recently, in the terrestrial oceans.

scholarly journals Anisotropic turbulence and zonal jets in rotating flows with a β-effect

2006 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Galperin ◽  
S. Sukoriansky ◽  
N. Dikovskaya ◽  
P. L. Read ◽  
Y. H. Yamazaki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Spectrum ◽  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Turbulent Flows ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Scaling Laws ◽  
Physical Nature ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Oceanic Circulation ◽  
Kinetic Energy Spectrum ◽  
Zonal Jets

Abstract. Numerical studies of small-scale forced, two-dimensional turbulent flows on the surface of a rotating sphere have revealed strong large-scale anisotropization that culminates in the emergence of quasi-steady sets of alternating zonal jets, or zonation. The kinetic energy spectrum of such flows also becomes strongly anisotropic. For the zonal modes, a steep spectral distribution, E(n)=CZ (Ω/R)2 n-5, is established, where CZ=O(1) is a non-dimensional coefficient, Ω is the angular velocity, and R is the radius of the sphere, respectively. For other, non-zonal modes, the classical, Kolmogorov-Batchelor-Kraichnan, spectral law is preserved. This flow regime, referred to as a zonostrophic regime, appears to have wide applicability to large-scale planetary and terrestrial circulations as long as those are characterized by strong rotation, vertically stable stratification and small Burger numbers. The well-known manifestations of this regime are the banded disks of the outer planets of our Solar System. Relatively less known examples are systems of narrow, subsurface, alternating zonal jets throughout all major oceans discovered in state-of-the-art, eddy-permitting simulations of the general oceanic circulation. Furthermore, laboratory experiments recently conducted using the Coriolis turntable have basically confirmed that the lateral gradient of ''planetary vorticity'' (emulated via the topographic β-effect) is the primary cause of the zonation and that the latter is entwined with the development of the strongly anisotropic kinetic energy spectrum that tends to attain the same zonal and non-zonal distributions, −5 and , respectively, in both the slope and the magnitude, as the corresponding spectra in other environmental conditions. The non-dimensional coefficient CZ in the −5 spectral law appears to be invariant, , in a variety of simulated and natural flows. This paper provides a brief review of the zonostrophic regime. The review includes the discussion of the physical nature, basic mechanisms, scaling laws and universality of this regime. A parameter range conducive to its establishment is identified, and collation of laboratory and naturally occurring flows is presented through which the zonostrophic regime manifests itself in the real world.

scholarly journals The Dynamics of Baroclinic Zonal Jets*

2015 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 1137-1151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul D. Williams ◽  
Christopher W. Kelsall
Keyword(s):  
Root Mean Square ◽  
Power Law ◽  
Zonal Flow ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Mean Square ◽  
Initial State ◽  
Zonal Jets ◽  
Rotation Periods ◽  
Inverse Energy Cascade ◽  
Geostrophic Turbulence

Abstract Multiple alternating zonal jets are a ubiquitous feature of planetary atmospheres and oceans. However, most studies to date have focused on the special case of barotropic jets. Here, the dynamics of freely evolving baroclinic jets are investigated using a two-layer quasigeostrophic annulus model with sloping topography. In a suite of 15 numerical simulations, the baroclinic Rossby radius and baroclinic Rhines scale are sampled by varying the stratification and root-mean-square eddy velocity, respectively. Small-scale eddies in the initial state evolve through geostrophic turbulence and accelerate zonally as they grow in horizontal scale, first isotropically and then anisotropically. This process leads ultimately to the formation of jets, which take about 2500 rotation periods to equilibrate. The kinetic energy spectrum of the equilibrated baroclinic zonal flow steepens from a −3 power law at small scales to a −5 power law near the jet scale. The conditions most favorable for producing multiple alternating baroclinic jets are large baroclinic Rossby radius (i.e., strong stratification) and small baroclinic Rhines scale (i.e., weak root-mean-square eddy velocity). The baroclinic jet width is diagnosed objectively and found to be 2.2–2.8 times larger than the baroclinic Rhines scale, with a best estimate of 2.5 times larger. This finding suggests that Rossby wave motions must be moving at speeds of approximately 6 times the turbulent eddy velocity in order to be capable of arresting the isotropic inverse energy cascade.

Kolmogorov’s contributions to the physical and geometrical understanding of small-scale turbulence and recent developments

1991 ◽  
Vol 434 (1890) ◽  
pp. 183-210 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Turbulent Flows ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Inertial Range ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Small Scales ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Self Similar ◽  
Scale Turbulence ◽  
High Reynolds ◽  
Non Gaussian

This paper reviews how Kolmogorov postulated for the first time the existence of a steady statistical state for small-scale turbulence, and its defining parameters of dissipation rate and kinematic viscosity. Thence he made quantitative predictions of the statistics by extending previous methods of dimensional scaling to multiscale random processes. We present theoretical arguments and experimental evidence to indicate when the small-scale motions might tend to a universal form (paradoxically not necessarily in uniform flows when the large scales are gaussian and isotropic), and discuss the implications for the kinematics and dynamics of the fact that there must be singularities in the velocity field associated with the - 5/3 inertial range spectrum. These may be particular forms of eddy or ‘eigenstructure’ such as spiral vortices, which may not be unique to turbulent flows. Also, they tend to lead to the notable spiral contours of scalars in turbulence, whose self-similar structure enables the ‘box-counting’ technique to be used to measure the ‘capacity’ D K of the contours themselves or of their intersections with lines, D' K . Although the capacity, a term invented by Kolmogorov (and studied thoroughly by Kolmogorov & Tikhomirov), is like the exponent 2 p of a spectrum in being a measure of the distribution of length scales ( D' K being related to 2 p in the limit of very high Reynolds numbers), the capacity is also different in that experimentally it can be evaluated at local regions within a flow and at lower values of the Reynolds number. Thus Kolmogorov & Tikhomirov provide the basis for a more widely applicable measure of the self-similar structure of turbulence. Finally, we also review how Kolmogorov’s concept of the universal spatial structure of the small scales, together with appropriate additional physical hypotheses, enables other aspects of turbulence to be understood at these scales; in particular the general forms of the temporal statistics such as the high-frequency (inertial range) spectra in eulerian and lagrangian frames of reference, and the perturbations to the small scales caused by non-isotropic, non-gaussian and inhomogeneous large-scale motions.

scholarly journals Spectral evolution of two-layer weak geostrophic turbulence. Part I: Typical scenarios

1996 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 166-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Soomere
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Rossby Waves ◽  
Initial Conditions ◽  
Local Equilibrium ◽  
Zonal Flow ◽  
Underlying Mechanism ◽  
Wave System ◽  
Spectral Evolution ◽  
Initial State ◽  
Geostrophic Turbulence

Abstract. Long-time evolution of large-scale geophysical flows is considered in a β-plane approximation. Motions in an infinite 2-layer model ocean are treated as a system of weakly nonlinear Rossby waves (weak geostrophic turbulence). The evolution of the energy spectrum of the barotropic and the baroclinic modes is investigated on the basis of numerical experiments with the kinetic equation for baroclinic Rossby waves. The basic features of free (nonforced inviscid) spectral evolution of baroclinic flows are similar to those of the barotropic motions. A portion of the energy is transferred to a sharp spectral peak while the rest of it is isotropically distributed. The peak corresponds to an intensive nearly zonal barotropic flow. Typically, this well-defined barotropic zonal anisotropy inhibits the reinforcement of its baroclinic analogy. For a certain set of initial conditions (in particular, if the barotropic zonal flow is not present initially), a zonal anisotropy of both modes is generated. The interplay between the multimodal nearly zonal flow components leads to the excitation of large-scale (several times exceeding the scale of the initial state), mostly meridional, baroclinic motions at the expense of the barotropic nearly zonal flow. The underlying mechanism is explained on the level of elementary mixed-triad interaction. The whole wave field retains its essentially baroclinic as well as spectrally broad nature. It evidently tends towards a thermodynamically equilibrated final state, consisting of the superposition of a (usually barotropic, but occasionally multimodal) zonal flow and a wave system with a Raleigh-Jeans spectrum. This evolution takes place as a multi-staged process, with fast convergence of the modal spectra to a local equilibrium followed by a more gradual adjustment of the energy balance between the modes.

scholarly journals The Troposphere-to-Stratosphere Transition in Kinetic Energy Spectra and Nonlinear Spectral Fluxes as Seen in ECMWF Analyses

2013 ◽  
Vol 70 (2) ◽  
pp. 669-687 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. H. Burgess ◽  
Andre R. Erler ◽  
Theodore G. Shepherd
Keyword(s):  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Zonal Flow ◽  
General Circulation Models ◽  
Energy Spectra ◽  
Spectral Break ◽  
Energy Peak ◽  
Transient Energy ◽  
Aircraft Data

Abstract Global horizontal wavenumber kinetic energy spectra and spectral fluxes of rotational kinetic energy and enstrophy are computed for a range of vertical levels using a T799 ECMWF operational analysis. Above 250 hPa, the kinetic energy spectra exhibit a distinct break between steep and shallow spectral ranges, reminiscent of dual power-law spectra seen in aircraft data and high-resolution general circulation models. The break separates a large-scale “balanced” regime in which rotational flow strongly dominates divergent flow and a mesoscale “unbalanced” regime where divergent energy is comparable to or larger than rotational energy. Between 230 and 100 hPa, the spectral break shifts to larger scales (from n = 60 to n = 20, where n is spherical harmonic index) as the balanced component of the flow preferentially decays. The location of the break remains fairly stable throughout the stratosphere. The spectral break in the analysis occurs at somewhat larger scales than the break seen in aircraft data. Nonlinear spectral fluxes defined for the rotational component of the flow maximize between about 300 and 200 hPa. Large-scale turbulence thus centers on the extratropical tropopause region, within which there are two distinct mechanisms of upscale energy transfer: eddy–eddy interactions sourcing the transient energy peak in synoptic scales, and zonal mean–eddy interactions forcing the zonal flow. A well-defined downscale enstrophy flux is clearly evident at these altitudes. In the stratosphere, the transient energy peak moves to planetary scales and zonal mean–eddy interactions become dominant.

Eddy Amplitudes in Baroclinic Turbulence Driven by Nonzonal Mean Flow: Shear Dispersion of Potential Vorticity

2007 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 1037-1050 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Shafer Smith
Keyword(s):  
Potential Vorticity ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Dispersion Model ◽  
Baroclinic Instability ◽  
Zonal Flow ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Jet Mixing ◽  
Zonal Jets ◽  
Shear Dispersion ◽  
The Cross

Abstract As in the midlatitude atmosphere, midocean eddies are primarily generated by baroclinically unstable mean currents. In contrast to the atmosphere, however, oceanic currents are significantly nonzonal. Even weak nonzonal currents are linearly unstable since β does not suppress growing meridional waves. Theories for the nonlinear equilibration of baroclinic instability, and hence theories for the amplitudes of midocean eddies, must therefore take into account the different dynamics of nonzonal flow. It is shown here that the amplitude of fully developed baroclinic turbulence due to nonzonal shears differs from that due to zonal shears primarily in the nature of the eddy generation. Since β will act to create large-scale zonal jet structures regardless of the generation source, the nature of eddy fluxes of potential vorticity (the source of eddy energy) in the zonal and meridional directions are fundamentally different. The cross-jet mixing has been shown previously to obey a mixing-length scaling, and this corresponds to the generation due to unstable zonal flow. The along-jet mixing, which corresponds to the generation due to the meridional shear, is shown here to be best described by a shear dispersion model. The resulting flux is orders of magnitude higher than in the cross-jet direction, and thus eddy energies driven by baroclinically unstable mean flows with a nonzero meridional component are much larger. This provides an explanation for recently reported results. Moreover, given recent observational and modeling studies showing the ubiquitous presence of zonal jets in the oceans, the results presented here indicate a powerful source of eddy energy.

scholarly journals Direct Evidence of an Oceanic Inverse Kinetic Energy Cascade from Satellite Altimetry

2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (9) ◽  
pp. 1650-1666 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert B. Scott ◽  
Faming Wang
Keyword(s):  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Energy Flux ◽  
Direct Evidence ◽  
Inertial Range ◽  
Turbulence Theory ◽  
Kinetic Energy Density ◽  
Geostrophic Flow ◽  
Inverse Cascade ◽  
Barotropic Mode ◽  
Geostrophic Turbulence

Abstract Sea surface height measurements from satellites reveal the turbulent properties of the South Pacific Ocean surface geostrophic circulation, both supporting and challenging different aspects of geostrophic turbulence theory. A near-universal shape of the spectral kinetic energy flux is found and provides direct evidence of a source of kinetic energy near to or smaller than the deformation radius, consistent with linear instability theory. The spectral kinetic energy flux also reveals a net inverse cascade (i.e., a cascade to larger spatial scale), consistent with two-dimensional turbulence phenomenology. However, stratified geostrophic turbulence theory predicts an inverse cascade for the barotropic mode only; energy in the large-scale baroclinic modes undergoes a direct cascade toward the first-mode deformation scale. Thus if the surface geostrophic flow is predominately the first baroclinic mode, as expected for oceanic stratification profiles, then the observed inverse cascade contradicts geostrophic turbulence theory. The latter interpretation is argued for. Furthermore, and consistent with this interpretation, the inverse cascade arrest scale does not follow the Rhines arrest scale, as one would expect for the barotropic mode. A tentative revision of theory is proposed that would resolve the conflicts; however, further observations and idealized modeling experiments are needed to confirm, or refute, the revision. It is noted that no inertial range was found for the inverse cascade range of the spectrum, implying inertial range scaling, such as the established K−5/3 slope in the spectral kinetic energy density plot, is not applicable to the surface geostrophic flow.

scholarly journals Statistical Analysis of Dynamic Subgrid Modeling Approaches in Large Eddy Simulation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Khalid Hossen ◽  
Asokan Mulayath Variyath ◽  
Jahrul M Alam
Keyword(s):  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Large Eddy Simulation ◽  
Turbulent Flows ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Physical Space ◽  
Statistical Characteristics ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Eddy Simulation ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Large Eddy

In large eddy simulation (LES) of turbulent flows, the most critical dynamical processes to be considered by dynamic subgrid models to account for an average cascade of kinetic energy from the largest to the smallest scales of the flow is not fully clear. Furthermore, evidence of vortex stretching being the primary mechanism of the cascade is not out of the question. In this article, we study some essential statistical characteristics of vortex stretching and its role in dynamic approaches of modeling subgrid-scale turbulence. We have compared the interaction of subgrid stresses with the filtered quantities among four models using invariants of the velocity gradient tensor. This technique is a single unified approach to studying a wide range of length scales in the turbulent flow. In addition, it also provides a rational basis for the statistical characteristics a subgrid model must serve in physical space to ensure an appropriate cascade of kinetic energy. Results indicate that the stretching mechanism extracts energy from the large-scale straining motion and passes it onto small-scale stretched vortices.

scholarly journals A theory for the emergence of coherent structures in beta-plane turbulence

2014 ◽  
Vol 740 ◽  
pp. 312-341 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikolaos A. Bakas ◽  
Petros J. Ioannou
Keyword(s):  
Turbulent Flows ◽  
Coherent Structures ◽  
Energy Input ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Order Approximation ◽  
Plane Channel ◽  
Phase Speed ◽  
Homogeneous State ◽  
Zonal Jets ◽  
Beta Plane

AbstractPlanetary turbulent flows are observed to self-organize into large-scale structures such as zonal jets and coherent vortices. One of the simplest models of planetary turbulence is obtained by considering a barotropic flow on a beta-plane channel with turbulence sustained by random stirring. Nonlinear integrations of this model show that as the energy input rate of the forcing is increased, the homogeneity of the flow is broken with the emergence of non-zonal, coherent, westward propagating structures and at larger energy input rates by the emergence of zonal jets. We study the emergence of non-zonal coherent structures using a non-equilibrium statistical theory, stochastic structural stability theory (S3T, previously referred to as SSST). S3T directly models a second-order approximation to the statistical mean turbulent state and allows the identification of statistical turbulent equilibria and study of their stability. Using S3T, the bifurcation properties of the homogeneous state in barotropic beta-plane turbulence are determined. Analytic expressions for the zonal and non-zonal large-scale coherent flows that emerge as a result of structural instability are obtained. Through numerical integrations of the S3T dynamical system, it is found that the unstable structures equilibrate at finite amplitude. Numerical simulations of the nonlinear equations confirm the characteristics (scale, amplitude and phase speed) of the structures predicted by S3T.

scholarly journals Structure and Spacing of Jets in Barotropic Turbulence

2007 ◽  
Vol 64 (10) ◽  
pp. 3652-3665 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian F. Farrell ◽  
Petros J. Ioannou
Keyword(s):  
Turbulent Flows ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Structure Amplitude ◽  
Large Spatial Scale ◽  
Zonal Jets ◽  
Development Processes ◽  
Scale Turbulence ◽  
Jet Structure

Abstract Turbulent flows are often observed to be organized into large-spatial-scale jets such as the familiar zonal jets in the upper levels of the Jovian atmosphere. These relatively steady large-scale jets are not forced coherently but are maintained by the much smaller spatial- and temporal-scale turbulence with which they coexist. The turbulence maintaining the jets may arise from exogenous sources such as small-scale convection or from endogenous sources such as eddy generation associated with baroclinic development processes within the jet itself. Recently a comprehensive theory for the interaction of jets with turbulence has been developed called stochastic structural stability theory (SSST). In this work SSST is used to study the formation of multiple jets in barotropic turbulence in order to understand the physical mechanism producing and maintaining these jets and, specifically, to predict the jet amplitude, structure, and spacing. These jets are shown to be maintained by the continuous spectrum of shear waves and to be organized into stable attracting states in the mutually adjusted mean flow and turbulence fields. The jet structure, amplitude, and spacing and the turbulence level required for emergence of jets can be inferred from these equilibria. For weak but supercritical turbulence levels the jet scale is determined by the most unstable mode of the SSST system and the amplitude of the jets at equilibrium is determined by the balance between eddy forcing and mean flow dissipation. At stronger turbulence levels the jet amplitude saturates with jet spacing and amplitude satisfying the Rayleigh–Kuo stability condition that implies the Rhines scale. Equilibrium jets obtained with the SSST system are in remarkable agreement with equilibrium jets obtained in simulations of fully developed β-plane turbulence.

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