Geophysical fluid dynamics

The color Figure shows instantaneous snapshots of an idealized ocean circulation modelGeophysical fluid dynamics is the application of fluid dynamics to modelling the Earth's atmosphere and ocean, and forms the theoretical foundation of weather forecasting and climate prediction. Of particular interest is the interaction between waves and nonlinear transport, and the coupling between structures at different scales from the size of the planet to turbulent structures that are millimetres across. Geophysical fluid dynamics combines together asymptotics, geometric reasoning, and numerical simulations to explain and predict the motion of the atmosphere and ocean with implications for our weather and climate.

The figure to the right shows an instantaneous snapshot of an idealised ocean circulation model in deep-ocean fields of potential vorticity. This circulation is characterized by the giant subtropical and subpolar gyres, which are separated by the relatively narrow and fast eastward jet that meanders, radiates waves and sheds intense vortices. This jet is dynamically equivalent to the Gulfstream and Kuroshio extensions in the North Atlantic and Pacific. The jet extensions are very important for the climate and climate variability. For example, without the Gulfstream Great Britain would be fully covered by permanent glaciers, as this has happened in the past. (Berloff 2005; Berloff et al. 2007).

The goal of this Project is to figure out how to model the small-scale nonlinear interactions maintaining the eddy backscatter in terms of space and time correlated stochastic processes. This ambitious goal makes the Project a puzzle of fundamental fluid dynamics and stochastic processes, leading to new ways of thinking about turbulence. In perspective, accurate and efficient mathematical modelling of small-scale eddies is essential for improving predictive skills of the comprehensive climate models, but a great deal of physical understanding needs to be gained on the way.

Researchers involved

  • Prof Pavel Berloff

    Dr Pavel Berloff

    Personal details

    Prof Pavel Berloff Professor in Applied Mathematics

    Research interests

    Fluid Dynamics, Geophysical Fluid Dynamics, Ocean Circulation and Modelling, Climate Dynamics, Geophysical Turbulence and Waves, Oceanic Mesoscale Eddies, Transport and Mixing Processes in Fluids, Ocean-Atmosphere Coupling, Stochastic Modelling and Parameterizations, Nonlinear Dynamical Systems, Numerical Algorithms

  • Dr Colin Cotter

    Dr Colin Cotter

    Personal details

    Dr Colin Cotter Reader in Numerical Analysis and Scientific Computing

    Research interests

    My general interests are in Computational Modelling and Numerical Analysis. Some current specific interests are: Numerical methods for climate, weather prediction and ocean modelling, Computational anatomy

  • Professor Richard Craster

    Professor Richard Craster

    Personal details

    Professor Richard Craster Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences

    Research interests

    Thin film flows; Geophysical fluid dynamics; Surfactants; Jets and threads; Viscoplastic flows

  • Dr David Ham

    Dr David Ham

    Personal details

    Dr David Ham Senior Lecturer in AMMP

  • Professor Darryl Holm

    Professor Darryl Holm

    Personal details

    Professor Darryl Holm Chair in Applied Mathematics

    Research interests

    Climate; Turbulence
    Solitons

Research associates involved

  • Dr Werner Bauer

    Dr Werner Bauer

    Personal details

    Dr Werner Bauer Research Associate

    Research interests

    Computational Modelling and Numerical Analysis, Geophysical Fluid Dynamics, Deterministic and Stochastic Modelling, Variational Principles, Hamiltonian and Lagrangian formulations, Structure-preserving Numerical Models

  • Dr Michael Haigh

    Dr Michael Haigh

    Personal details

    Dr Michael Haigh Research Associate

    Research interests

    Research interests are geophysical fluid dynamics, ocean modelling and eddy-mean flow interaction. Current focus is on the role of turbulent mesoscale eddies in the transport of tracers about the ocean.

  • Dr Igor Shevchenko

    Dr Igor Shevchenko

    Personal details

    Dr Igor Shevchenko Research Associate

    Research interests

    Geophysical Fluid Dynamics; Fluid Dynamics; Global and Regional Ocean Circulation Models, Stochastic parameterisations for fluid dynamics; Uncertainty quantification; Data Assimilation; Dynamical systems; Bifurcation analysis; Nonlinear Wave Phenomena; Artificial Neural Networks.

  • Dr Hiroe Yamazaki

    Dr Hiroe Yamazaki

    Personal details

    Dr Hiroe Yamazaki Research Associate