THE VORTICES OF GEOSTROPHIC TURBULENCE

A solution for decaying geostrophic turbulence at large Reynolds number is analysed by means of an automated vortex census. The census identifies the flow structures that approximately conform to the idealized shape of an isolated, coherent geostrophie vortex. It also determines vortex characteristics, such as amplitude, size, and shape. The distributions of these characteristics within the vortex population are examined, as are their time evolutions. These distributions are interpreted with reference to the dynamical processes of vortices, and they are compared to analogous distributions from a solution for two-dimensional turbulence. © 1990, Cambridge University Press. All rights reserved.