12.820 / 12.822 Turbulence in Geophysical Systems, Spring 2004
Examples of turbulent flows at the surface of the sun, in the earth's atmosphere, in the Gulf Stream at the ocean surface, and in a volcanic eruption. (Images courtesy of
NASA,
NOAA and
USGS.)
Highlights of this Course
Course Description
This course presents the phenomena, theory, and modeling of turbulence in the Earth's oceans and atmosphere. The scope ranges from the fine structure to planetary scale motions. The regimes of turbulence include homogeneous flows in two and three dimensions, geostrophic motions, shear flows, convection, boundary layers, stably stratified flows, and internal waves.