Modeling Atmospheric and Oceanic Flows

Modeling Atmospheric and Oceanic Flows: Insights from Laboratory Experiments and Numerical Simulations provides a broad overview of recent progress in using laboratory experiments and numerical simulations to model atmospheric and oceanic fluid motions. This volume not only surveys novel research topics in laboratory experimentation, but also highlights recent developments in the corresponding computational simulations. As computing power grows exponentially and better numerical codes are developed, the interplay between numerical simulations and laboratory experiments is gaining paramount importance within the scientific community. The lessons learnt from the laboratory–model comparisons in this volume will act as a source of inspiration for the next generation of experiments and simulations. Volume highlights include: Topics pertaining to atmospheric science, climate physics, physical oceanography, marine geology and geophysics Overview of the most advanced experimental and computational research in geophysics Recent developments in numerical simulations of atmospheric and oceanic fluid motion Unique comparative analysis of the experimental and numerical approaches to modeling fluid flow Modeling Atmospheric and Oceanic Flows will be a valuable resource for graduate students, researchers, and professionals in the fields of geophysics, atmospheric sciences, oceanography, climate science, hydrology, and experimental geosciences.

Contributors vii Preface xi Acknowledgments xiii Introduction: Simulations of Natural Flows in the Laboratory and on a Computer 1 Paul F Linden Section I: Baroclinic-Driven Flows 1 General Circulation of Planetary Atmospheres: Insights from Rotating Annulus and Related Experiments 9 Peter L Read, Edgar P Pérez, Irene M Moroz, and Roland M B Young 2 Primary Flow Transitions in the Baroclinic Annulus: Prandtl Number Effects 45 Gregory M Lewis, Nicolas Périnet, and Lennaert van Veen   3 Amplitude Vacillation in Baroclinic Flows 61 Wolf-Gerrit Früh   Section II: Balanced and Unbalanced Flows 4 Rotation Effects on Wall-Bounded Flows: Some Laboratory Experiments 85 P Henrik Alfredsson and Rebecca J Lingwood 5 Altimetry in a GFD Laboratory and Flows on the Polar β-Plane 101 Yakov D Afanasyev    6 Instabilities of Shallow-Water Flows with Vertical Shear in the Rotating Annulus 119 Jonathan Gula and Vladimir Zeitlin 7 Laboratory Experiments on Flows Over Bottom Topography 139 Luis Zavala Sansón and Gert-Jan van Heijst  8 Direct Numerical Simulations of Laboratory-Scale Stratified Turbulence 159 Michael LWaite  Section III: Atmospheric Flows 9 Numerical Simulation (DNS, LES) of Geophysical Laboratory Experiments: Quasi-Biennial Oscillation (QBO) Analogue and Simulations Toward Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO) Analogue 179 Nils PWedi  10 Internal Waves in Laboratory Experiments 193 Bruce Sutherland, Thierry Dauxois, and Thomas Peacock   11 Frontal Instabilities at Density–Shear Interfaces in Rotating Two-Layer Stratified Fluids 213 Hélène Scolan, Roberto Verzicco, and Jan-Bert Flór    Section IV: Oceanic Flows 12 Large-Amplitude Coastal Shelf Waves 231 Andrew L Stewart, Paul J Dellar, and Edward R Johnson   13 Laboratory Experiments With Abrupt Thermohaline Transitions and Oscillations 255 John A Whitehead 14 Oceanic Island Wake Flows in the Laboratory 265 Alexandre Stegner Section V: Advances in Methodology 15 Lagrangian Methods in Experimental Fluid Mechanics 279 Mickael Bourgoin, Jean-François Pinton, and Romain Volk   16 A High-Resolution Method for Direct Numerical Simulation of Instabilities and Transitions in a Baroclinic Cavity 297 Anthony Randriamampianina and Emilia Crespo del Arco   17 Orthogonal Decomposition Methods to Analyze PIV, LDV, and Thermography Data of Thermally Driven Rotating Annulus Laboratory Experiments 315 Uwe Harlander, Thomas von Larcher, Grady BWright, Michael Hoff, Kiril Alexandrov, and Christoph Egbers   Index  337