Waves, Instabilities and Turbulence

We develop physical and mathematical methods to diagnose the observed and simulated atmospheric circulation from global scales and planetary waves up to turbulent processes in the boundary layer and clouds. In particular, we developed and support applications of MODES, a software for the scale- and regime-dependent circulation decomposition applied also in real time to the ECMWF products. The decomposition provides a three-dimensional picture of large-scale equatorial waves such as the equatorial Kelvin and mixed Rossby-gravity waves, and of coherent flows.  Fundamentals and applications of turbulence, boundary layers and clouds are also studied with a combination of theory and models of different complexity, from integral models like mixed-layer models to high-resolution three-dimensional simulations such as direct numerical simulations

Working groups: Atmospheric Dynamics and Predictability, Atmospheric Turbulence and Boundary Layers, Stratified Turbulence in the Middle Atmosphere