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Updated: Jun 19, 2026

Three-dimensional Particle Tracking Velocimetry for Turbulence Applications: Case of a Jet Flow
Published on: February 27, 2016
Triple cascade behavior in quasigeostrophic and drift turbulence and generation of zonal jets
Sergey Nazarenko1, Brenda Quinn
1Mathematics Institute, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry CV4 7AL, United Kingdom. S.VNazarenko@warwick.ac.uk
Abstract:
We study quasigeostrophic (QG) and plasma drift turbulence within the Charney-Hasegawa-Mima (CHM) model. We focus on the zonostrophy, an extra invariant in the CHM model, and on its role in the formation of zonal jets. We use a generalized Fjørtoft argument for the energy, enstrophy, and zonostrophy and show that they cascade anisotropically into nonintersecting sectors in k space with the energy cascading towards large zonal scales. Using direct numerical simulations of the CHM equation, we show that zonostrophy is well conserved, and the three invariants cascade as predicted by the Fjørtoft argument.
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