Energy spectra of strongly stratified and rotating turbulence

Abstract

Turbulence under strong stratification and rotation is usually characterized as quasi-two-dimensional turbulence. We develop a “quasi-two-dimensional” energy spectrum which changes smoothly between the Kolmogorov [Formula Presented] law (no stratification), the [Formula Presented] scalings of Zhou [Phys. Fluids 7, 2092 (1995)] for the case of strong rotation, as well as the [Formula Presented] scalings for the case of strong rotation and stratification. For strongly stratified turbulence, the model may give the [Formula Presented] scaling predicted by Herring [Meteorol. Atmos. Phys. 38, 106 1988], and the [Formula Presented] scaling indicated by some mesoscale observations.© 1998 The American Physical Society.