Nonlinear Processes in Geophysical Fluid Dynamics: A tribute to the scientific work of Pedro Ripa

This volume deals with various nonlinear phenomena in geophysical flows. Processes studied are, among others, the stability of currents and vortices, internal wave generation and propagation, and atmosphere-ocean interaction. The geographic extent of the processes discussed range from the local (the Gulf of California and other marginal seas) to the global (the general oceanic circulation). The studies contained in this volume are based on observations (in situ as well as satellite measurements), theoretical analysis (Hamiltonian fluid dynamics and stability theory), numerical simulations and laboratory experiments. This collection of excellent papers by international experts in geophysical fluid dynamics is based upon presentations at a colloquium held in memory of Professor Pedro Ripa on the first anniversary of his untimely death. The legacy of Professor Ripa is highly regarded in the field of geophysical fluid dynamics. Early in his scientific career he made two landmark contributions to the field by showing, in 1981, that potential vorticity conservation is a consequence, via Noether's Theorem, of the Lagrangian particle re-labelling symmetry. Two years later, he established the necessary conditions for instability in the shallow water equations, nowadays known as "Ripa's Theorem". A constant in Professor Ripa's work was the search for simplified or approximate models that contained the essential physics of the problem under study. This volume, composed to honour him, constitutes valuable reading for both researchers and graduate students interested in fluid mechanics and particularly in geophysical fluid dynamics. This book is not just an overview but provides realistic calculations enabling one to not only understand the forces involved, but to design structures to tolerate such forces.

Table of Contents:
1 Ripa’s Theorem and its Relatives.- 2 Deep Ocean Influence on Upper Ocean Baroclinic Instability Saturation.- 3 Constrained-Hamiltonian Shallow-Water Dynamics on the Sphere.- 4 Hamiltonian Description of Fluid and Plasma Systems with Continuous Spectra.- Stable Vortices as Maximum or Minimum Energy Flows.- 6 Nonlinear Outflows on a ? Plane.- 7 Generation of Internal Gravity Waves by Unstable Overflows.- 8 On the Effect of Heat and Fresh-Water Fluxes Across the Ocean Surface, in Volume-Conserving and Mass-Conserving Models.- 9 Baroclinic Waves in Climates of the Earth’s Past.- 10 Mean and Eddy Dynamics of the Main Thermocline.- 11 An Overview of the Physical Oceanography of the Gulf of California.- 12 The Atmosphere over the Gulf of California.- 13 Residual Flow and Mixing in the Large-Islands Region of the Central Gulf of California.- 14 A Description of Geostrophic Gyres in the Southern Gulf of California.- 15 Nonlinear Internal Waves Near Mexico’s Central Pacific Coast.- 16 CANEK: Measuring Transport in the Yucatan Channel.- 17 Diagnostic Force Balance and its Limits.- 18 A Note on the Effects of Solid Boundaries on Confined Decaying 2D Turbulence.- 19 Effects of Rotation on Convective Instability.- 20 Advection by Interacting Vortices on a ? Plane.- 21 A Low-Dimensional Dynamical System for Tripole Formation.

Review :
From the reviews: "This book contains the papers presented at a colloquium held in memory of professor Pedro Ripa on the first anniversary of this sudden death. ! The book is written in a precise and very readable style; there are many useful reflections and figures throughout. ! could be recommended not only to researchers but generally to all scientists and graduate students interested in various aspects of environmental sciences." (Andrzej Icha, Pure and Applied Geophysics, Vol. 165, 2008)