The dynamics of passive Lagrangian tracers in three-dimensional quasigeostrophic turbulence is studied numerically and compared with the behavior of two-dimensional barotropic turbulence. Despite the different Eulerian properties of the two flows, the Lagrangian dynamics of passively advected tracers in three-dimensional quasigeostrophic turbulence is very similar to that of barotropic turbulence. In both systems, coherent vortices play a major role in determining the mixing and dispersion properties. This work indicates that recent results on particle dynamics in barotropic, two-dimensional turbulence carry over to more realistic baroclinic flows, such as those encountered in the large-scale dynamics of the atmosphere and ocean.
Dispersion and mixing in quasigeostrophic turbulence / Bracco, A; von Hardenberg, J; Provenzale, A; Weiss, JB; McWilliams, JC. - In: PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS. - ISSN 0031-9007. - 92:8(2004). [10.1103/PhysRevLett.92.084501]
Titolo: | Dispersion and mixing in quasigeostrophic turbulence | |
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Data di pubblicazione: | 2004 | |
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Digital Object Identifier (DOI): | http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.92.084501 | |
Appare nelle tipologie: | 1.1 Articolo in rivista |
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http://hdl.handle.net/11583/2815020