2024/09/09 by Arnout Franken, Franken, Arnout, Erwin Luesink +5 · 1 citation
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · #Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics (physics.ao-ph) #FOS: Physical sciences #Fluid Dynamics (physics.flu-dyn) #Geology and Paleoclimatology Research #Geophysics and Gravity Measurements #Methane Hydrates and Related Phenomena
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2409.05432
openalex publication_date 2024/09/09 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
In this paper, we study geostrophic turbulence without external forcing or dissipation, using a Casimir-preserving numerical method. The research examines the formation of large zonal jets, common in geophysical flows, especially in giant gas planets. These jets form due to the east-west stretching of vortices, influenced by the gradient of the Coriolis parameter, leading to a critical latitude beyond which jets do not form. Using a global quasi-geostrophic model with a fully latitude-dependent Coriolis parameter, we investigate this critical latitude, which is theorized to depend only on the product of the Rossby number and the Lamb parameter. By simulating random flow fields, the critical latitude was identified through zonally averaged zonal velocity profiles. Results align with geostrophic theory, especially near typical Rossby and Lamb parameter values for Earth's atmosphere. However, in the regime of weak rotation (high Rossby numbers) and strong stratification (high Lamb values), no clear critical latitude emerges; instead, zonal jet amplitude and width decrease gradually towards the poles. This research paves the way for further study of jet dynamics under a fully latitude-dependent Coriolis parameter.