Speaker
Description
We study a simplified model of geophysical flows, called beta-plane turbulence, which is built on the two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equation in the presence of differential rotation, ie a northward gradient of the local vertical rotation rate (beta-effect). When strong enough, the beta-effect triggers a zonostrophic instability, leading to the spontaneous emergence of zonal jets, which are large, banded, anisotropic alternating jets in the zonal direction. The complete theoretical description of the statistical properties of the jets and the related scaling regimes is still lacking. In this work, we use FRG to study the conditions for the zonostrophic instability, and we calculate the energy spectra associated with the jets and the background fluid.
| Affiliation | University Grenoble Alpes |
|---|---|
| Career status | Senior |