Unearthing the Dynamics of Planetary Jet Streams

by Dr Laura Cope (University of Cambridge)

Tuesday 8 Dec 2020, 15:00 → 17:00 Europe/Stockholm

 

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https://stockholmuniversity.zoom.us/j/622224375

Meeting ID: 622 224 375

Abstract :  Zonal jets are strong and persistent east-west flows that
arise spontaneously in planetary atmospheres and oceans. They are
ubiquitous, with key examples including mid-latitude jets in the
troposphere, multiple jets in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and
flows on gaseous giant planets such as Jupiter and Saturn. Turbulent
flows on a beta-plane lead to the spontaneous formation and
equilibration of persistent zonal jets. However, the equilibrated jets
are not steady and the nature of the time variability in the
equilibrated phase is of interest both because of its relevance to the
behaviour of naturally occurring jet systems and for the insights it
provides into the dynamical mechanisms operating in these systems. I
will discuss aspects of zonal jet variability using insights from a
framework of barotropic beta-plane models in which eddy-eddy
interactions are systematically neglected.