Fundamental Aspects of Turbulent Flows in Climate Dynamics

Book excerpt: "This book collects the text of the lectures given at the Les Houches Summer School on "Fundamental aspects of turbulent flows in climate dynamics", held in August 2017. Leading scientists in the fields of climate dynamics, atmosphere and ocean dynamics, geophysical fluid dynamics, physics and non-linear sciences present their views on this fast growing and interdisciplinary field of research, by venturing upon fundamental problems of atmospheric convection, clouds, large scale circulation, and predictability. Climate is controlled by turbulent flows. Turbulent motions are responsible for the bulk of the transport of energy, momentum, and water vapor in the atmosphere, which determine the distribution of temperature, winds, and precipitation on Earth. Clouds, weather systems, and boundary layers in the oceans and atmosphere are manifestations of turbulence in the climate system. Because turbulence remains as the great unsolved problem of classical physics, we do not have a complete physical theory of climate. The aim of this summer school was to survey what is known about how turbulent flows control climate, what role they may play in climate change, and to outline where progress in this important area can be expected, given today's computational and observational capabilities. This book reviews the state-of-the-art developments in this field and provides an essential background to future studies. All chapters are written from a pedagogical perspective, making the book accessible to masters and PhD students and all researchers wishing to enter this field. It is complemented by online video of several lectures and seminars recorded during the summer school"