Vortices and waves study yields weather and climate clues

Many fluid flows contain a complex mixture of long-lived structures, such as vortices, together with propagating waves and regions where the flow is disorganised, resulting in intense mixing. Vortices are regions of rotating fluid and are common in the oceans and atmosphere, for example in the form of hurricanes.

The VORTEXETER (Vortices and waves: Dynamics, stability and mixing) project investigated the interactions of vortices, waves and mixing processes in idealised models. The study included surface gravity waves and employed so-called shallow water equations to develop an understanding of stability, mixing and structure formation.

Researchers combined numerical simulations and mathematical analysis to gain a clearer understanding of fundamental processes in fluid dynamics with application to geophysical flows. The results gave a precise, idealised picture of how wave radiation and interaction and critical layers can destabilise stable flows.

Knowledge of how the vortices, waves and mixing interact provides crucial insights into the processes driving weather and climate. The data from VORTEXETER will also help scientists to create more accurate transport models for temperature, pollutants and nutrients, which are key issues in atmospheric science and oceanography.