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Self-organized criticality in geophysical turbulence
W D Smyth1, J D Nash2, J N Moum2
1College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA. smythw@oregonstate.edu.
Scientific Reports
|March 8, 2019
Summary
Geophysical turbulence organizes near stability boundaries, suggesting self-organized criticality (SOC). Ocean turbulence data confirms this, showing power-law distributions for turbulent event sizes, supporting SOC as a foundation for geophysical fluid studies.
Area of Science:
- Geophysics
- Fluid Dynamics
- Statistical Physics
Background:
- Geophysical flows exhibit turbulence that organizes near stability boundaries.
- This behavior is characteristic of self-organized criticality (SOC), observed in phenomena like earthquakes and solar flares.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the relationship between forced, sheared, stratified turbulence in geophysical fluids and SOC.
- To investigate if ocean turbulence exhibits SOC properties.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of in situ observations of ocean turbulence.
- Examination of the statistical properties of turbulent events, including their sizes.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated self-organization to a critical state in various geophysical turbulence cases, primarily from ocean observations.
- Observed power-law size distribution for turbulent events in the ocean, indicating self-similarity.
Conclusions:
- Self-organized criticality (SOC) provides a new conceptual framework for geophysical turbulence.
- SOC may explain the mixing efficiency of ocean turbulence.
- Findings suggest potential for interdisciplinary insights across geophysics.
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