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Tuesday, August 29, 2006
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
CNLS Conference Room

Seminar

Late-Time Attractors for Patterns of Vortices and Jet Streams in A Rotating, Stratified Shear Flow, such as Jupiter's Atmosphere

Philip S. Marcus
University of California at Berkeley

THIS SEMINAR IS PART OF THE CNLS WORKSHOP: NEW DIRECTIONS IN TWO-DIMENSIONAL TURBULENCE BEING HELD AUGUST 28 - SEPTEMBER 1, 2006 AT CNLS.

Rotating, stratified flows are nearly 2D and the inverse cascade of energy often leads to large, turbulent vortices and jets. In general, the flows are not unique, and there are several basins of attraction of the flow - each characterized by its own pattern of vortices and jet streams. The transport properties of each pattern vary markedly, so in a geophysical, or climate-change context, the robustness of each pattern and how patterns are selected due to small changes in the environment are important. We explore pattern selection using numerical simulation and statistical mechanics. We show that the results explain the spatial arrangements and areas of the long-lived vortical storms on Jupiter.

Host: Misha Chertkov