Related papers: The buoyancy staircase limit in surface quasigeost…
Quasigeostrophic flows are induced by spatial variations in interior potential vorticity and boundary buoyancy. We begin by developing the geostrophic turbulence theory of boundary buoyancy anomalies in a fluid with vanishing potential…
Numerical and observational evidence indicates that, in regions where mixed-layer instability is active, the surface geostrophic velocity is largely induced by surface buoyancy anomalies. Yet, in these regions, the observed surface kinetic…
This study examines the role of stratification in the formation and persistence of eastward jets (like the Gulf Stream and Kuroshio currents). Using a wind-driven, two-layer quasi-geostrophic model in a double-gyre configuration, we…
Quasigeostrophic turbulence on a beta-plane with a finite deformation radius is studied nu- merically, with particular emphasis on frequency and combined wavenumber-frequency do- main analyses. Under suitable conditions, simulations with…
The role of short-wave instabilities on geostrophic turbulence is studied in a simplified model consisting of three layers in the quasi-geostrophic approximation. The linear stability analysis shows that short-wave instabilities are created…
Formation of step-like 'density staircase' distributions induced by stratification and turbulence has been widely studied and can be explained by the 'instability' of a sufficiently strongly stably stratified turbulent flow due to the…
Turbulence-driven quasi-stationnary structures known as 'staircase' are investigated using the collisional drift-wave model. Two-dimensional simulations show that the ability of zonal density corrugations to suppress turbulence are affected…
Stably stratified fluids subject to sustained forcing are known to develop step-like density "staircases", where nearly homogeneous layers alternate with thin interfaces of strong stratification. However, long-time numerical investigations…
The discrete baroclinic modes of quasigeostrophic theory are incomplete and the incompleteness manifests as a loss of information in the projection process. The incompleteness of the baroclinic modes is related to the presence of two…
We investigate the non-linear equilibration of a two-layer quasi-geostrophic flow in a channel forced by an imposed unstable zonal mean flow, paying particular attention to the role of bottom friction. In the limit of low bottom friction,…
Seismic waves sensitive to the outermost part of the Earth's liquid core seem to be affected by a stably stratified layer at the core-mantle boundary. Such a layer could have an observable signature in both long-term and short-term…
Motivated by the discrepancy between satellite observations of coherent westward propagating surface features and Rossby wave theory, this paper revisits the planetary wave propagation problem, taking into account the effects of lateral…
Bathymetric changes have been experimentally shown to affect the occurrence of rogue waves. We recently derived a non-homogeneous correction to the spectral analysis, allowing to describe the evolution of the rogue wave probability over a…
A two-field model of potential vorticity (PV) staircase structure and dynamics relevant to both beta-plane and drift-wave plasma turbulence is studied numerically and analytically. The model evolves averaged PV whose flux is both driven by…
Midlatitude jet streams exhibit substantial variability in latitude, width, and vertical depth on synoptic to multi-decadal timescales. While the upper-level dynamics of baroclinic waves have been extensively studied, the sensitivity of the…
Upper-ocean turbulent flows at horizontal length scales smaller than the deformation radius depart from geostrophic equilibrium and develop important vertical velocities, which are key to marine ecology and climatic processes. Due to their…
Recent research has shed light on the role of coherent structures in forming layers when stably stratified turbulence is forced with horizontal shear (Lucas, Caulfield & Kerswell, J. Fluid Mech., vol. 832, 2017, pp. 409-437). Here we extend…
Recently, quasi-stationary structures called $E \times B$ staircases were observed in gyrokinetic simulations, in all transport channels [Dif-Pradalier et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, 085004 (2015)]. We present a novel analytical theory -…
Recent observational constraints on the internal structure of Jupiter and Saturn suggest that these planets have ``fuzzy" cores, i.e., gradients of the concentration of heavy elements that might span a large fraction of the planet's radius.…
We study low frequency waves that propagate in a region of layered semi-convection. Layered semi-convection is predicted to be present in stellar and planetary interiors and can significantly modify the rate of thermal and compositional…