Geophysical flows over topography, a playground for laboratory experiments
Physicists face major challenges in modelling multi-scale phenomena that are observed in geophysical flows (e.g. in the Earth’s oceans and atmosphere, or liquid planetary cores). In particular, complexities arise because geophysical fluids are rotating and subject to density variations, but also bec...
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| Format: | Article |
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Académie des sciences
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Comptes Rendus. Physique |
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| Online Access: | https://comptes-rendus.academie-sciences.fr/physique/articles/10.5802/crphys.219/ |
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| author | Vidal, Jérémie Noir, Jérôme Cébron, David Burmann, Fabian Monville, Rémy Giraud, Vadim Charles, Yoann |
| author_facet | Vidal, Jérémie Noir, Jérôme Cébron, David Burmann, Fabian Monville, Rémy Giraud, Vadim Charles, Yoann |
| author_sort | Vidal, Jérémie |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Physicists face major challenges in modelling multi-scale phenomena that are observed in geophysical flows (e.g. in the Earth’s oceans and atmosphere, or liquid planetary cores). In particular, complexities arise because geophysical fluids are rotating and subject to density variations, but also because the fluid boundaries have complex geometries (e.g. the ocean floor) with wavelengths ranging from metres to thousands of kilometres. Dynamical models of planetary fluid layers are thus often constrained by observations, whose interpretation necessitates a comprehensive understanding of the underlying physics. To this end, geophysical studies often combine cutting-edge experiments across a wide range of parameters, together with theory and numerical simulations, to derive predictive scaling laws applicable for planetary settings. In this review, we discuss experimental efforts that have contributed to our understanding of geophysical flows with topography. More specifically, we focus on (i) the flow response to mechanical (orbital) forcings in the presence of a large-scale (ellipsoidal) topography, (ii) some effects of small-scale topography onto bulk flows and boundary-layer dynamics, and (iii) the interaction between convection and roughness. The geophysical context is briefly introduced for each case, and some experimental perspectives are drawn. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7c19ce89a75945559eae7fd9a0e002a5 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1878-1535 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Académie des sciences |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Comptes Rendus. Physique |
| spelling | doaj-art-7c19ce89a75945559eae7fd9a0e002a52025-02-07T13:54:24ZengAcadémie des sciencesComptes Rendus. Physique1878-15352025-01-0115210.5802/crphys.21910.5802/crphys.219Geophysical flows over topography, a playground for laboratory experimentsVidal, Jérémie0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3654-6633Noir, Jérôme1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9977-0360Cébron, David2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3579-8281Burmann, Fabian3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8095-1081Monville, Rémy4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9460-2293Giraud, Vadim5https://orcid.org/0009-0003-6820-0148Charles, Yoann6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4861-8016Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, ISTerre, 38000 Grenoble, FranceInstitut für Geophysik, ETH Zürich, Sonneggstrasse 5, Zürich 8092, SwitzerlandUniversité Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, ISTerre, 38000 Grenoble, FranceInstitut für Geophysik, ETH Zürich, Sonneggstrasse 5, Zürich 8092, SwitzerlandUniversité Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, ISTerre, 38000 Grenoble, FranceInstitut für Geophysik, ETH Zürich, Sonneggstrasse 5, Zürich 8092, SwitzerlandDevelopment of Advanced Engineering Solutions (DAES), Avenue des Grandes-Communes 8, Petit-Lancy 1213, Switzerland; Institut für Geophysik, ETH Zürich, Sonneggstrasse 5, Zürich 8092, SwitzerlandPhysicists face major challenges in modelling multi-scale phenomena that are observed in geophysical flows (e.g. in the Earth’s oceans and atmosphere, or liquid planetary cores). In particular, complexities arise because geophysical fluids are rotating and subject to density variations, but also because the fluid boundaries have complex geometries (e.g. the ocean floor) with wavelengths ranging from metres to thousands of kilometres. Dynamical models of planetary fluid layers are thus often constrained by observations, whose interpretation necessitates a comprehensive understanding of the underlying physics. To this end, geophysical studies often combine cutting-edge experiments across a wide range of parameters, together with theory and numerical simulations, to derive predictive scaling laws applicable for planetary settings. In this review, we discuss experimental efforts that have contributed to our understanding of geophysical flows with topography. More specifically, we focus on (i) the flow response to mechanical (orbital) forcings in the presence of a large-scale (ellipsoidal) topography, (ii) some effects of small-scale topography onto bulk flows and boundary-layer dynamics, and (iii) the interaction between convection and roughness. The geophysical context is briefly introduced for each case, and some experimental perspectives are drawn.https://comptes-rendus.academie-sciences.fr/physique/articles/10.5802/crphys.219/TopographyRotationStratificationGeophysical flowsPlanetary coresSubsurface oceans |
| spellingShingle | Vidal, Jérémie Noir, Jérôme Cébron, David Burmann, Fabian Monville, Rémy Giraud, Vadim Charles, Yoann Geophysical flows over topography, a playground for laboratory experiments Comptes Rendus. Physique Topography Rotation Stratification Geophysical flows Planetary cores Subsurface oceans |
| title | Geophysical flows over topography, a playground for laboratory experiments |
| title_full | Geophysical flows over topography, a playground for laboratory experiments |
| title_fullStr | Geophysical flows over topography, a playground for laboratory experiments |
| title_full_unstemmed | Geophysical flows over topography, a playground for laboratory experiments |
| title_short | Geophysical flows over topography, a playground for laboratory experiments |
| title_sort | geophysical flows over topography a playground for laboratory experiments |
| topic | Topography Rotation Stratification Geophysical flows Planetary cores Subsurface oceans |
| url | https://comptes-rendus.academie-sciences.fr/physique/articles/10.5802/crphys.219/ |
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