Navid C. Constantinou

Emergence and equilibration of jets in beta-plane turbulence: applications of Stochastic Structural Stability Theory

AbstractStochastic structural stability theory (S3T) provides analytical methods for understanding the emergence and equilibration of jets from the turbulence in planetary atmospheres based on the dynamics of the statistical mean state of the turbulence closed at second order. Predictions for formation and equilibration of turbulent jets made using S3T are critically compared with results of simulations made using the associated quasi-linear and nonlinear models. S3T predicts the observed bifurcation behavior associated with the emergence of jets, their equilibration, and their breakdown as a function of parameters. Quantitative differences in bifurcation parameter values between predictions of S3T and results of nonlinear simulations are traced to modification of the eddy spectrum which results from two processes: nonlinear eddy–eddy interactions and formation of discrete nonzonal structures. Remarkably, these nonzonal structures, which substantially modify the turbulence spectrum, are found to arise fro...

Statistical State Dynamics of Jet–Wave Coexistence in Barotropic Beta-Plane Turbulence

AbstractJets coexist with planetary-scale waves in the turbulence of planetary atmospheres. The coherent component of these structures arises from cooperative interaction between the coherent structures and the incoherent small-scale turbulence in which they are embedded. It follows that theoretical understanding of the dynamics of jets and planetary-scale waves requires adopting the perspective of statistical state dynamics (SSD), which comprises the dynamics of the interaction between coherent and incoherent components in the turbulent state. In this work, the stochastic structural stability theory (S3T) implementation of SSD for barotropic beta-plane turbulence is used to develop a theory for the jet–wave coexistence regime by separating the coherent motions consisting of the zonal jets together with a selection of large-scale waves from the smaller-scale motions that constitute the incoherent component. It is found that mean flow–turbulence interaction gives rise to jets that coexist with large-scale ...

A statistical state dynamics-based study of the structure and mechanism of large-scale motions in plane Poiseuille flow

The perspective of statistical state dynamics (SSD) has recently been applied to the study of mechanisms underlying turbulence in various physical systems. An example implementation of SSD is the second order closure referred to as stochastic structural stability theory (S3T), which has provided insight into the dynamics of wall turbulence and specifically the emergence and maintenance of the roll/streak structure. This closure eliminates nonlinear interactions among the perturbations has been removed, restricting nonlinearity in the dynamics to that of the mean equation and the interaction between the mean and perturbation covariance. Here, this quasi-linear restriction of the dynamics is used to study the structure and dynamics of turbulence in plane Poiseuille flow at moderately high Reynolds numbers in a closely related dynamical system, referred to as the restricted nonlinear (RNL) system. RNL simulations reveal that the essential features of wall-turbulence dynamics are retained. Remarkably, the RNL system spontaneously limits the support of its turbulence to a small set of streamwise Fourier components giving rise to a naturally minimal representation of its turbulence dynamics. Although greatly simplified, this RNL turbulence exhibits natural-looking structures and statistics. Surprisingly, even when further truncation of the perturbation support to a single streamwise component is imposed the RNL system continues to produce self-sustaining turbulent structure and dynamics. RNL turbulence at the Reynolds numbers studied is dominated by the roll/streak structure in the buffer layer and similar very-large-scale structure (VLSM) in the outer layer. Diagnostics of the structure, spectrum and energetics of RNL and DNS turbulence are used to demonstrate that the roll/streak dynamics supporting the turbulence in the buffer and logarithmic layer is essentially similar in RNL and DNS.

S3T Stability of the Homogeneous State of Barotropic Beta-Plane Turbulence

Zonal jets and non-zonal large-scale flows are often present in forced-dissipative barotropic turbulence on a beta-plane. The dynamics underlying the formation of both zonal and non-zonal coherent structures is investigated in this work within the statistical framework of Stochastic Structural Stability Theory (S3T). Previous S3T studies have shown that the homogeneous turbulent state undergoes a bifurcation at a critical parameter and becomes inhomogeneous with the emergence of zonal and/or large-scale non-zonal flows and that these statistical predictions of S3T are reflected in direct numerical simulations. In this paper, we study the dynamics underlying the S3T statistical instability of the homogeneous state as a function of parameters. It is shown that for weak planetary vorticity gradient,

Turbulence in the highly restricted dynamics of a closure at second order: comparison with DNS

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Optimal excitation of two dimensional Holmboe instabilities

, both zonal jets and non-zonal large-scale structures form from upgradient momentum fluxes due to shearing of the eddies by the emerging infinitesimal flow. For large

Magnetic Suppression of Zonal Flows on a Beta Plane

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A Barotropic Model of Eddy Saturation

, the dynamics of the S3T instability differs for zonal and non-zonal flows but in both the destabilizing vorticity fluxes decrease with increasing

Formation of large-scale structures by turbulence in rotating planets

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Emergence and equilibration of jets in beta-plane turbulence

. Shearing of the eddies by the mean flow continues to be the mechanism for the emergence of zonal jets while non-zonal large-scale flows emerge from resonant and near resonant triad interactions between the large-scale flow and the stochastically forced eddies. The relation between the formation of large-scale structure through modulational instability and the S3T instability of the homogeneous state is also investigated and it is shown that the modulational instability results are subsumed by the S3T results.