Buoyant Convection In Geophysical Flows

Studies of convection in geophysical flows constitute an advanced and rapidly developing area of research that is relevant to problems of the natural environment. During the last decade, significant progress has been achieved in the field as a result of both experimental studies and numerical modelling. This led to the principal revision of the widely held view on buoyancy-driven turbulent flows comprising an organised mean component with superimposed chaotic turbulence. An intermediate type of motion, represented by coherent structures, has been found to play a key role in geophysical boundary layers and in larger scale atmospheric and hydrospheric circulations driven by buoyant forcing. New aspects of the interaction between convective motions and rotation have recently been discovered and investigated. Extensive experimental data have also been collected on the role of convection in cloud dynamics and microphysics. New theoretical concepts and approaches have been outlined regarding scaling and parameterization of physical processes in buoyancy-driven geophysical flows. The book summarizes interdisciplinary studies of buoyancy effects in different media (atmosphere and hydrosphere) over a wide range of scales (small scale phenomena in unstably stratified and convectively mixed layers to deep convection in the atmosphere and ocean), by different research methods (field measurements, laboratory simulations, numerical modelling), and within a variety of application areas (dispersion of pollutants, weather forecasting, hazardous phenomena associated with buoyant forcing).

Geophysical and Astrophysical Convection collects important papers from an international group of the world's foremost researchers in geophysical and astrophysical convection to present a concise overview of recent thinking in the field. Topics include: Atmospheric convection, solar and stellar convection, unsteady non-penetrative thermal convection, astrophysical convection and dynamos, dynamics of cumulus entertainment, turbulent convection: helical buoyant convection, transport phenomena, potential vorticity, rotating convective turbulence, and the modeling and simulation various types of convection and turbulence.

Buoyancy is one of the main forces driving flows on our planet, especially in the oceans and atmosphere. These flows range from buoyant coastal currents to dense overflows in the ocean, and from avalanches to volcanic pyroclastic flows on the Earth's surface. This book brings together contributions by leading world scientists to summarize our present theoretical, observational, experimental and modeling understanding of buoyancy-driven flows. Buoyancy-driven currents play a key role in the global ocean circulation and in climate variability through their impact on deep-water formation. Buoyancy-driven currents are also primarily responsible for the redistribution of fresh water throughout the world's oceans. This book is an invaluable resource for advanced students and researchers in oceanography, geophysical fluid dynamics, atmospheric science and the wider Earth sciences who need a state-of-the-art reference on buoyancy-driven flows.

The phenomena treated in this book all depend on the action of gravity on small density differences in a non-rotating fluid. The author gives a connected account of the various motions which can be driven or influenced by buoyancy forces in a stratified fluid, including internal waves, turbulent shear flows and buoyant convection. This excellent introduction to a rapidly developing field, first published in 1973, can be used as the basis of graduate courses in university departments of meteorology, oceanography and various branches of engineering. This edition is reprinted with corrections, and extra references have been added to allow readers to bring themselves up to date on specific topics. Professor Turner is a physicist with a special interest in laboratory modelling of small-scale geophysical processes. An important feature is the superb illustration of the text with many fine photographs of laboratory experiments and natural phenomena.

Leading researchers come together in this 2004 text to survey recent developments in atmospheric turbulence and mesoscale meteorology.

Geophysical and Astrophysical Convection collects important papers from an international group of the world's foremost researchers in geophysical and astrophysical convection to present a concise overview of recent thinking in the field. Topics include: Atmospheric convection, solar and stellar convection, unsteady non-penetrative thermal convection, astrophysical convection and dynamos, dynamics of cumulus entertainment, turbulent convection: helical buoyant convection, transport phenomena, potential vorticity, rotating convective turbulence, and the modeling and simulation various types of convection and turbulence.