9731735 The objectives of this project are to improve understanding of atmospheric dynamics and to demonstrate the feasibility of numerical simulation of particular laboratory fluid flows. This grant enables a post- doctoral scientist whose expertise is in numerical simulation of geophysical fluid dynamics to collaborate with an expert in laboratory experiments in fluid flows at Cambridge, U.K. The research concentrates on two main problems of atmospheric interest. The first is to explore the effects of variable vertical forcing and variable stratification on vortices in the flow. The second is to explore the effects of large-scale horizontal shear, time-dependent forcing, and the dispersion of passive tracers. This award is in response to a proposal submitted under the guidelines of the Small Grants for Exploratory Research option because of its preliminary nature, urgency, and new, untested approach to interactive simultaneous numerical and laboratory simulation.
