Special Topics in Environmental Engineering and Water Resources: Flow and Turbulence in Geophysical Systems

The course examines turbulence in geophysical systems. We review the classic theories of turbulence and vorticity dynamics in neutral non-rotating media. We then introduce rotation into the problem and examine the transitions between 2D and 3D turbulence. The genesis of buoyancy forces and their influence on turbulence are then examined, from the free convection unstable limit to the highly-stratified stable limit. The interacting effects of rotation and buoyancy are then reviewed. Finally, we examine turbulence states far from equilibrium.