Zonal Flow as Pattern Formation: Merging Jets and the Ultimate Jet Length Scale

Jeffrey B. Parker and John A. Krommes

关键词: Drift Waves;    Geophysical Applications;    Turbulence;   

DOI  :  10.2172/1062392
RP-ID  :  PPPL-4851
PID  :  OSTI ID: 1062392

学科分类：原子、分子光学和等离子物理

美国|英语

来源: SciTech Connect

【 摘 要 】

Zonal flows are well known to arise spontaneously out of turbulence. It is shown that for statisti- cally averaged equations of quasigeostrophic turbulence on a beta plane, zonal flows and inhomoge- neous turbulence fit into the framework of pattern formation. There are many implications. First, the zonal flow wavelength is not unique. Indeed, in an idealized, infinite system, any wavelength within a certain continuous band corresponds to a solution. Second, of these wavelengths, only those within a smaller subband are linearly stable. Unstable wavelengths must evolve to reach a stable wavelength; this process manifests as merging jets.