Evolution of coherent modes in the dynamics of planetary polar vortices
| Project acronym: | |
| Name of Group Leader: | L. Montabone, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK, L.Montabone@open.ac.uk |
| User-Project Title: | Evolution of coherent modes in the dynamics of planetary polar vortices |
| Facility: | Coriolis platform |
| Proceedings TA Project: | Barotropic instability of planetary polar vortices: civ analysis of specific multi-lobed structures |
| Data Management Report: | Data Management Reports Page You will need to login to view this page |
Summary:
Polar vortices represent a key element in the atmospheric dynamics of the planets. They are common structures which are observed in any planet with an atmosphere, including the Earth, Mars, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn. Polar vortices are of interest because they act as a barrier, inhibiting energy transport and potentially preventing the mixing of aerosols and chemical species
This project is intended to investigate in the laboratory the evolution of the coherent modes at the edge of the polar vortices, which are produced by barotropic instability. It is intended to be the continuation and the evolution of our previous experiments carried out in the 5 m diameter rotating tank in Trondheim, this time using advanced techniques of flow visualization, specifically designed for global Eulerian measurements. This project will make extensively use of the Correlation Image Velocimetry (CIV), developed at the Coriolis/LEGI laboratory in Grenoble, to yield high resolution Eulerian velocity measurements from the very beginning of each planned experimental run. Click here for further information about this project on the CNRS website.
| Publication References |
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| A laboratory model of Saturn’s north polar hexagon, Icarus, submitted.Aguiar, A. C. B, Read, P. L., Yamazaki, Y. H. & Wordsworth, R. D., (2007) |
| Observations of zonal flow created by potential vorticity mixing in a rotating fluid, Geophys. Res.Aubert, J., S. Jung and H.L. Swinney, Letters 29, 1876 (2002) |
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| Mean flow generation by topographic Rossby waves, |
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| Project Summary Report for HYDRALAB-III campaign HyIII-NTNU-16 (2008), Montabone, L. et al. |
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| Experiments on vortices and Rossby waves in eastward and westward jets in Nonlinear Topics in Ocean Physics, edited by A. Osborne (North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1991), pp. 227-269. Sommeria, J., S. D. Meyers, and H. L. Swinney |
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