Geophysical and Astrophysical Fluid Dynamics

Abstract:

Against a backdrop of intensive exploration of the Martian surface environment, intehded to lead to human exploration, some aspects of the modern climate and the meteorology of Mars remain relatively unexplored. In particular, there is a need for detailed measurements of the vertical profiles of atmospheric temperature, water vapor, dust, and condensates to understand the intricately related processes upon which the surface conditions, and those encountered during descent by landers, depend. The most important of these missing data are accurate and extensive temperature measurements with high vertical resolution. The Mars Climate Sounder experiment on the 2005 Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, described here, is the latest attempt to characterize the Martian atmosphere with the sort of coverage and precision achieved by terrestrial weather satellites. If successful, it is expected to lead to corresponding improvements in our understanding of meteorological phenomena and to enable improved general circulation models of the Martian atmosphere for climate studies on a range of timescales. Copyright 2007 by the American Geophysical Union.

Abstract:

A superrotating atmosphere with equatorial winds of ∼35 m s-1 is simulated using a simplified Venus general circulation model (GCM). The equatorial superrotation in the model atmosphere is maintained by barotropic instabilities in the midlatitude jets which transport angular momentum toward the equator. The midlatitude jets are maintained by the mean meridional circulation, and the momentum transporting waves are qualitatively similar to observed midlatitude waves; an equatorial Kelvin wave is also present in the atmosphere. The GCM is forced by linearized cooling and friction parameterizations, with hyperdiffusion and a polar Fourier filter to maintain numerical stability. Atmospheric superrotation is a robust feature of the model and is spontaneously produced without specific tuning. A strong meridional circulation develops in the form of a single Hadley cell, extending from the equator to the pole in both hemispheres, and from the surface to 50 km altitude. The zonal jets produced by this circulation reach 45 m s-1 at 60 km, with peak winds of 35 m s-1 at the equator. A warm pole and cold collar are also found in the GCM, caused by adiabatic warming in the mean meridional circulation. Wave frequencies and zonal wind speeds are smaller than in observations by cloud tracking but are consistent with a Doppler shifting by wind speeds in the generating region of each wave. Magnitudes of polar temperature anomalies are smaller than the observed features, suggesting dynamical processes alone may not be sufficient to maintain the large observed temperature contrasts at the magnitudes and periods found in this GCM. Copyright 2007 by the American Geophysical Union.

Abstract:

In this study an experimental investigation of baroclinic waves in air in a differentially heated rotating annulus is presented. Air has a Prandtl number of 0.707, which falls within a previously unexplored region of parameter space for baroclinic instability. The flow regimes encountered include steady waves, periodic amplitude vacillations, modulated amplitude vacillations, and either monochromatic or mixed wave number weak waves, the latter being characterized by having amplitudes less than 5% of the applied temperature contrast. The distribution of these flow regimes in parameter space are presented in a regime diagram. It was found that the progression of transitions between different regimes is, as predicted by recent numerical modeling results, in the opposite sense to that usually found in experiments with high Prandtl number liquids. No hysteresis in the flow type, with respect to variations in the rotation rate, was found in this investigation.

Abstract:

The onset of small-scale fluctuations around a steady convection pattern in a rotating baroclinic annulus filled with air is investigated using Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS). In previous laboratory experiments of baroclinic waves, such fluctuations have been associated with Structural Vacillation which is regarded as the first step in the transition to fully-developed geostrophic turbulence. Here we present an analysis which focusses on the small-scale features.