[GTP] Reminder- GTP MMM seminar- Colm Connaughton-- TODAY

Silvia Gentile sgentile at ucar.edu
Tue Jul 19 10:48:13 MDT 2011


Joint MMM GTP Seminar

Feedback of zonal flows on Rossby/drift-wave turbulence driven by small 
scale instability

Colm Connaughton

Warwick Mathematics Institute and Warwick Centre for Complexity Science  

We demonstrate theoretically and numerically the zonal-flow/wave 
turbulence feedback mechanism in Charney-Hasegama-Mima turbulence forced 
by a small scale instability. Zonal flows are generated by a secondary 
modulational instability of the waves which are directly driven by the 
primary instability. The shear generated by the zonal flows then 
suppresses the small scale turbulence thereby arresting the energy 
injection into the system. This process can be described using nonlocal 
wave turbulence theory. Finally, the arrest of the energy input results 
in saturation of the zonal flows at a level which can be estimated from 
the theory and the system reaches stationarity even without large scale 
damping.

(Joint work with S. Nazarenko and B. Quinn)

 

Tuesday July 19

NCAR Foothills Laboratory 1

3450 Mitchell Lane

Room FL1-2198 EOL Atrium

Lecture 3:30pm

-- 
Silvia Gentile
NCAR IMAGe
1850 Table Mesa Drive
Boulder, CO 803035
www2.image.ucar.edu/IMAGe




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