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Center for Nonlinear Studies |
The subtle interplay of geostrophy, hydrostacy, thermal convection, baroclinic instability, and boundary layers forms the basis of nearly all phenomena in geophysical and astrophysical flows. In this talk I will present new results concerning the interactions of these dynamical ingredients in a rotationally constrained regime relevant to both GAFD and laboratory applications. I will discuss how the tools of multiscale asymptotic analysis nicely combine these different dynamical ingredients into a concise and general framework for theoretical investigations. In Part-I of this talk, I present a new nonlinear model for side-wall boundary convection in rotating finite-aspect ratio systems. This model elucidates some surprising new nonlinear physics of wall-mode convection, which has been the focus of intense laboratory investigation for quite some time. In Part-II of this talk I present a new nonlinear multiscale model for the joint action of thermal convection and baroclinic instability. The competition between these two instabilities helps explain a number of phenomena, particularly the nonhydrostatic breakup of open-ocean baroclinic eddies. In Part-III of this talk I will discuss how the models of Parts-I-&-II are actually slightly different variations on the same type of system. I will additionally discuss additional physical application of both cases.
Host: Robert Ecke, CNLS, 667-1444