Rotating tank experiments for the study of geophysical fluid dynamics

Changming DONG; Xiaojie LU; Yuli LIU; Guoqing HAN; Minghan FU; Qian CAO; Yang ZHANG; Xu CHEN; Yeping YUAN

doi:10.1007/s00343-024-3221-y

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Rotating tank experiments for the study of geophysical fluid dynamics

Physics | Updated：2024-11-19

- Rotating tank experiments for the study of geophysical fluid dynamics
- Journal of Oceanology and Limnology Vol. 42, Issue 5, Pages: 1385-1398(2024)
- Affiliations：
  
  1.International Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing210044, China
  2.Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of California, Los AngelesCA90095, USA
  3.State Key Laboratory of Satellite Ocean Environment Dynamics, Second Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Hangzhou310012, China
  4.Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai519000, China
  5.Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan316022, China
  6.Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang524088, China
  7.Ocean University of China, Qingdao266100, China
  8.Zhejiang University, Hangzhou310058, China
- Author bio：
  
  cmdong@nuist.edu.cn
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1007/s00343-024-3221-y
  CLC：
- Received：24 October 2023，
  
  Online First：12 January 2024，
  
  Published：01 September 2024
- Accepted：
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DONG Changming,LU Xiaojie,LIU Yuli,et al.Rotating tank experiments for the study of geophysical fluid dynamics[J].Journal of Oceanology and Limnology,2024,42(05):1385-1398.
DOI：

DONG Changming,LU Xiaojie,LIU Yuli,et al.Rotating tank experiments for the study of geophysical fluid dynamics[J].Journal of Oceanology and Limnology,2024,42(05):1385-1398. DOI： 10.1007/s00343-024-3221-y.

摘要

Abstract

Geophysical fluid dynamics (GFD) is an interdisciplinary field that studies the large-scale motion of fluids in the natural world. With a wide range of applications such as weather forecasts and climate prediction

GFD employs various research approaches including in-situ observations

satellite measurements

numerical simulations

theoretical analysis

artificial intelligence

and physical model experiments in laboratory. Among these approaches

rotating tank experiments provide a valuable tool for simulating naturally-occurring fluid motions in laboratories. With proportional scaling and proper techniques

scientists can reproduce multi-scale physical processes of stratified fluids in the rotation system

which allows for the simulation of essential characteristics of fluid motions in the atmosphere and oceans. In this review

rotating tanks of various scales in the world are introduced

as these tanks have been actively used to explore fundamental scientific questions in ocean and atmosphere dynamics. To illustrate the GFD experiments

three representative cases are presented to demonstrate the frontier achievements in the the GFD study by using rotating tank experiments: mesoscale eddies in the ocean

convection processes

and plume dynamics. Detailed references for the experimental procedures are provided. Future studies are encouraged to further explore the utilization of rotating tanks with improvements in experimental design and integration of other research methods. This is a promising direction of GFD to help enhance our understanding of the complex nature of fluid motions in the natural world and to address the challenges posed by global environmental changes.

关键词

Keywords

references

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