Closure models for rotating two-dimensional turbulence

Abstract

Abstract The effect of rigid body rotations on the structure of turbulence correlations for incompressible two-dimensional turbulent flow is examined. It is proven that the usual turbulence correlations that are constructed from the fluctuating velocity are invariant under rigid body rotations of the fluid while those that are constructed from the fluctuating pressure are not. An explicit transformation rule for rigid body rotations is developed for an important class of turbulence correlations that are built up from the fluctuating pressure. It is shown how these results can serve as a powerful tool in the development of turbulent closure models that are suitable for the study of atmospheric turbulence in the stratosphere.