Flows in the Atmosphere and in the Ocean

Abstract

The flows in Earth’s atmosphere (air flows) and in the oceans (oceanic currents) do not differ in principle from those flows in technical areas treated in the previous chapters. These are motions of gases (atmosphere) and liquids (ocean) that are acted on by gravity and are determined by pressure and frictional forces. The atmosphere and the oceans are part of a rotating system in which Coriolis and centrifugal forces also act.

From this point of view, a common treatment of flows in the atmosphere and in the ocean seems sensible. In fact, the name geophysical fluid dynamics has come to describe these flows. In particular, we refer to the textbooks of B. Cushman-Roisin (1994), A. E. Gill (1982), and J. Pedlosky (1994). Indeed, Ludwig Prandtl, in the original Essentials of Fluid Mechanics, considered flows in the atmosphere and oceans at several points throughout the book.

In this chapter we point out the essential elements of the geophysical flow processes in the atmosphere and oceans as discussed by Prandtl. Naturally, we can present only some elements of this topic, and this chapter in no way replaces the specialized literature from the areas of meteorology and oceanography.