Turbulence in GFD and AFD

Turbulence remains one of the unsolved problems of classical physics.  Large-scale flows in the atmospheres and oceans of planets and stars are dominated by rotation and stratification.  This dominance leads to predominantly two-dimensional motion and hence to the study of two-dimensional turbulence.  Two-dimensional turbulence is very different from its three-dimensional counterpart, with the existence of a cascade to large scales.

In papers 6 and 12, we use satellite data to examine the statistical properties of surface velocities in the ocean.

In paper 25, we look at how almost two-dimensional vorticity fields can act as dynamos. i.e. amplify magnetic field.  the following picture shows vorticity and magnetic field from a calculation in this paper.

This work was supported by the European Science Foundations's TAO Programme and by Queens’ College, Cambridge.