Interplay of Waves and Eddies and Energy Exchange in Rotating Stratified Geophysical Flows

Abstract:

We investigate the distribution of energy between wave and vortical modes as a function of scale in high resolution direct numerical simulations of rotating stratified Boussinesq flows with a unit aspect ratio, varying the dimensionless parameters in regimes in which wave turbulence prevails. The shift in scale from a vortex-dominated to a wave-dominated dynamics, characterized each by their Fourier spectra, is quantified by the wavenumber K_R at which they cross. We examine the dependency of K_R with parameters characteristics of the intrinsic dynamics of the flow such as Reynolds, Froude and Rossby numbers, and their combinations. Features of the energy exchange between potential and kinetic energy related to the interplay of wave modes and vortical modes are also explored and results recast in the context of geophysical flows.