Inverse cascade in zonal flows

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Mishra, Siddhant, Pal, Anikesh
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Mishra, Siddhant
Pal, Anikesh
author_facet Mishra, Siddhant
Pal, Anikesh
contents Zonal winds on Jovian planets play an important role in governing the cloud dynamics, transport of momentum, scalars, and weather patterns. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the evolution of the zonal flows and their sustainability. Based on studies in two-dimensional (2D) $β$ plane setups, zonal flow is believed to be forced at the intermediate scale via baroclinic instabilities, and the inverse cascade leads to the transfer of energy to large scales. However, whether such a process exists in three-dimensional (3D) deep convection systems remains an open and challenging question. To explore a possible answer, we perform Large Eddy Simulations at the geophysically interesting regime of $Ra=$$10^{12}$, $Ek=$$10^{-6}$,$10^{-7}$ and $10^{-8}$ in horizontally rotating Rayleigh-Bénard convection setup and discover the existence of natural forcing through buoyancy and inverse cascade. The turbulent kinetic energy budget analysis and the spectral space assessment of the results corroborate the emanation of a strong mean flow from chaos.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2409_05127
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Inverse cascade in zonal flows
Mishra, Siddhant
Pal, Anikesh
Fluid Dynamics
Zonal winds on Jovian planets play an important role in governing the cloud dynamics, transport of momentum, scalars, and weather patterns. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the evolution of the zonal flows and their sustainability. Based on studies in two-dimensional (2D) $β$ plane setups, zonal flow is believed to be forced at the intermediate scale via baroclinic instabilities, and the inverse cascade leads to the transfer of energy to large scales. However, whether such a process exists in three-dimensional (3D) deep convection systems remains an open and challenging question. To explore a possible answer, we perform Large Eddy Simulations at the geophysically interesting regime of $Ra=$$10^{12}$, $Ek=$$10^{-6}$,$10^{-7}$ and $10^{-8}$ in horizontally rotating Rayleigh-Bénard convection setup and discover the existence of natural forcing through buoyancy and inverse cascade. The turbulent kinetic energy budget analysis and the spectral space assessment of the results corroborate the emanation of a strong mean flow from chaos.
title Inverse cascade in zonal flows
topic Fluid Dynamics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.05127