Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Program (GFD)
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The GFD Program began in 1959 at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution with the aim of introducing a then relatively new topic in mathematical physics, geophysical fluid dynamics, to graduate students in physical sciences. It has been held each summer since and promotes an exchange of ideas among the many distinct fields that share a common interest in the nonlinear dynamics of rotating, stratified fluids. These fields include classical fluid dynamics, physical oceanography, meteorology, astrophysics, planetary atmospheres, geological fluid dynamics, hydromagnetics, and applied mathematics.
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Technical ReportThe 1959 Summer Program of Theoretical Studies in Geophysical Fluid Dynamics(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1959-10) Malkus, Willem V. R.This ten-week work-study-discussion program is centered about a formal course called Geophysical Fluid Dynamics. Eight participants are selected from graduate and postgraduate applicants. In the discussions emphasis is placed on the formulation of tractable research problems in geophysics. The participants are encouraged to work on satisfactory problems thus formulated and to continue with their research after returning to their respective institutions.
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Technical ReportThe 1960 Summer Program of Theoretical Studies in Geophysical Fluid Dynamics(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1960-11) Malkus, Willem V. R.This ten-week work-study-discussion program is centered about a formal course called Geophysical Fluid Dynamics. Eight participants are selected from graduate and postgraduate applicants. In the discussions emphasis is placed on the formulation of tractable research problems in geophysics. The participants are encouraged to work on satisfactory problems thus formulated and to continue with their research after returning to their respective institutions.
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Technical ReportThe 1961 Summer Program of Theoretical Studies in Geophysical Fluid Dynamics(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1961-11) Veronis, GeorgeThis ten-week work-study-discussion program was centered about a formal course called Geophysical Fluid Dynamics. Sixteen participants were selected from graduate and postgraduate applicants. In the discussions emphasis was placed on the formulation of tractable research problems in geophysics. The participants were encouraged to work on satisfactory problems thus formulated and to continue with their research after returning to their respective institutions.
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Technical ReportThe 1962 Summer Program in Geophysical Fluid Dynamics(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1962-11) Stern, Melvin E.
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Technical ReportThe 1963 summer program of theoretical studies in geophysical fluid dynamics(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1963-11) Veronis, GeorgeThe program in Geophysical Fluid Dynamics for the summer of 1963 was a program of work, study and discussion and was formally outlined through two courses of lectures - one on the dynamics of rotating fluids, the other, a special lecture series on astrophysics. The twenty-three participants attempted to formulate and analyze tractable problems in geophysics and astrophysics.
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Technical Report1979 summer study program in geophysical fluid dynamics : the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution : notes on polar oceanography(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1979-11) Stern, Melvin E. ; Mellor, Florence K.The emphasis in this year's GFD program has been somewhat different from the past. We have tried to expose a theoretically oriented audience to the new body of observations pertaining to the Arctic and Antarctic circulation. We have, however, not departed from our traditional goal of encouraging broad based inquiries into the field of Geophysical Fluid Dynamics. We would like to believe that the breadth of interest and enthusiasm exhibited in these reports will stimulate future work in Polar Oceanography and Fluid Dynamics.
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Technical Report1980 summer study program in geophysical fluid dynamics : coherent features in geophysical flows(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1980-11) Veronis, George ; Mellor, Florence K.Four principal lecturers shored the task of presenting the subject "Coherent Features in Geophysical Flows" to the participants of the twenty-second geophysical fluid dynamics summer program. Glenn Flierl introduced the topic and the Kortweg-de Vries equation via a model of finite amplitude motions on the beta plane. He extended the analysis to more complex flows in the ocean and the atmosphere and in the process treated motions of very large amplitude. Larry Redekopp's three lectures summarized an extensive body of the mathematical literature on coherent features. Andrew Ingersoll focussed on the many fascinating features in Jupiter's atmosphere. Joseph Keller supplemented an interesting summary of laboratory observations with suggestive models for treating the flows.
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Technical Report1981 summer study program in geophysical fluid dynamics : physics of convection(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1981-11) Malkus, Willem V. R. ; Mellor, Florence K.Reexploring convection and its various transitions to chaotic behavior were the central themes of GFD 1981. Our principal lecturer, Dr. Edward A. Spiegel, provided both a rich historical picture and stimulating hours at the current frontiers of this topic. Before the summer was out his research lecture on "A Tale of Two Methods" elegantly merged Pierre Coullet's canonical formalism for studying dynamical systems in a central manifold and the more traditional two-timing amplitude expansions near critical points. Other lecture sequences on convection and its relation to simpler dynamical systems ranged from the fine presentations of John Guckenheimer on bifurcation theory to Fritz Busse's survey of his immense contributions to our understanding of nonlinear convection. The list of other lectures found on the following pages attests to our summer-long exposure to convection in the ocean, the atmosphere, the earth's core and mantle, and in the sun. August brought lectures on new observations of convection in the laboratories of physicists. Albert Libchaber's precise experiments on the many routes convection can take to turbulence, with parallel laboratory and numerical experiments described by J. Gollub and E. Siggia, added much to our language of inquiry.
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Technical Report1982 summer study program in geophysical fluid dynamics : particle motions in fluids(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1982-11) Veronis, George ; Mellor, Florence K.The (Lagrangian) motion of a fluid particle was contrasted with the (Eulerian) flow past a fixed point in space during this twenty-fourth summer program in geophysical fluid dynamics at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
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Technical Report1989 summer study program in Geophysical Fluid Dynamics : general circulation of the oceans(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1989-11) Steering Committee ; Ewing-DeRemer, BarbaraThe success of this summer's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Program owes much to Myrl Hendershott's excellent and engaging survey of the Oceans General Circulation, including recent developments In the Theory of Recirculation Gyres and Thermocline Ventilation.
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Technical Report1991 Summer Study Program in Geophysical Fluid Dynamics : patterns in fluid flow(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1991-09) Young, Bill ; Fauve, Stephan ; DeRemer, Barbara Ewing ; Meacham, Stephen P.The GFD program in 1991 focused on pattern forming processes in physics and geophysics. The pricipallecturer, Stephan Fauve, discussed a variety of systems, including our old favorite, Rayleigh-Bénard convection, but passing on to exotic examples such as vertically vibrated granular layers. Fauve's lectures emphasize a unified theoretical viewpoint based on symmetry arguments. Patterns produced by instabilties can be described by amplitude equations, whose form can be deduced by symmetry arguments, rather than the asymptotic expansions that have been the staple of past Summer GFD Programs. The amplitude equations are far simpler than the complete equations of motion, and symetry arguments are easier than asymptotic expansions. Symmetry arguments also explain why diverse systems are often described by the same amplitude equation. Even for granular layers, where there is not a universaly accepted continuum description, the appropnate amplitude equation can often be found using symmetry arguments and then compared with experiment. Our second speaker, Daniel Rothan, surveyed the state of the art in lattice gas computations. His lectures illustrate the great utility of these methods in simulating the flow of complex multiphase fluids, particularly at low Reynolds numbers. The lattice gas simulations reveal a complicated phenomenology much of which awaits analytic exploration. The fellowship lectures cover broad ground and reflect the interests of the staff members associated with the program. They range from the formation of sand dunes, though the theory of lattice gases, and on to two dimensional-turbulence and convection on planetary scales. Readers desiring to quote from these report should seek the permission of the authors (a partial list of electronic mail addresses is included on page v). As in previous years, these reports are extensively reworked for publication or appear as chapters in doctoral theses. The task of assembling the volume in 1991 was at first faciltated by our newly acquired computers, only to be complicated by hurricane Bob which severed electric power to Walsh Cottage in the final hectic days of the Summer.
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Technical Report2004 program of study : tides(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2005-07) Balmforth, Neil J. ; Llewellyn Smith, Stefan ; Hendershott, Myrl ; Garrett, ChristopherThe summer of 2004 saw the GFD program tackle “Tides”. Myrl Hendershott (Scripps Institution of Oceanography) gave a fabulous introduction to the subject in the first week of the course, laying the foundations from astronomy and classical geophysical fluid dynamics. In the second week, Chris Garrett (University of Victoria) admirably followed up with recent developments on the subject, including the recent observations from satellite altimetry, their implications to mixing and circulation, and even a memorable lecture on the noble theme of how we might solve the world's energy crisis. The principal lectures proved unusually popular this summer, and the seminar room at Walsh often overflowed in the first two weeks. Following on from the lectures, the seminar schedule of the summer covered in greater detail the oceanographic issues with which researchers are actively grappling. We also heard about related problems regarding atmospheric, planetary and stellar tides, together with the usual mix of topics on GFD in general. The summer once again featured a lecture for the general public in the Woods Hole area. Carl Wunsch delivered a very well received lecture entitled “Climate Change Stories”, in which he gave an impression of how scientists generally believe our climate is currently changing, whilst simultaneously urging caution against some of the more outrageous and exaggerated claims. The lecture was held at Lilly Auditorium, thanks to the hospitality of the Marine Biology Laboratory. The reception following the lecture was enjoyed by all. Neil Balmforth and Stefan Llewellyn Smith acted as Co-Directors for the summer. Janet Fields, Jeanne Fleming and Penny Foster provided the administrative backbone to the Program, both during the summer and throughout the year beforehand. As always, we were grateful to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution for the use of Walsh Cottage, and Keith Bradley's solid service could not be overlooked. Shilpa Ghadge and Shreyas Mandre are to be thanked for their part in comforting the fellows, developing the summer's proceedings volume (available on the GFD web site) and for running the computer network.
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Technical Report2005 program of studies : fast times and fine scales(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2006-07) Buhler, Oliver ; Doering, Charles ; Keller, Joseph ; Papanicolaou, George C. ; Eijnden, Eric VandenThe 2005 GFD program was entitled “Fast Times and Fine Scales” with a focus on asymptotic and stochastic modeling methods that exploit a physical scale separation of some kind. An extremely strong application pool resulted in the appointment of the unusually large class of eleven GFD Fellows for the summer. The first week consisted of principal lectures from Joe Keller on waves in fluids, ray methods and a variety of applications. The second week was divided between Eric Vanden-Eijnden’s lectures on Brownian motion and stochastic diffferential equations, and George Papanicolaou’s lectures on variational principles and asymptotic methods in homogenization theory. The principal lectures were particularly well-attended but the lecture room at Walsh Cottage proved up to the task of accommodating the full audience. Research lectures by staff and visitors were delivered daily throughout the program addressing topics ranging from applications of multiscale modeling methods in ocean and atmosphere dynamics, to applications of stochastic methods in populations dynamics and chemical kinetics, to applications of homogenization theory in materials science and engineering. The program also included a popular public lecture on the timely subject of tsunamis. And as usual this summer ended with the Fellows’ reports including two experimental projects and theoretical work on a variety of problems inspired by the summer’s research theme. Oliver Bühler and Charlie Doering acted as co-Directors for the summer. Janet Fields, Jeanne Fleming and Penny Foster provided the administrative backbone for the program. Keith Bradley supplied technical support, and Matt Finn ran the computer network and graciously helped with the production of the summer’s proceedings volume. As always we are grateful to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution for the use of Walsh Cottage, the perfect setting for the GFD program.
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Technical Report2006 program of studies : ice(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2007-03) Balmforth, Neil J. ; Wettlaufer, JohnStudy Program. Professor Grae Worster (University of Cambridge) was the principal lecturer, and navigated our path through the fluid dynamics of icy processes in GFD. Towards the end of Grae’s lectures, we also held the 2006 GFD Public Lecture. This was given by Greg Dash of the University of Washington, on matters of ice physics and a well¬known popularization: “Nine Ices, Cloud Seeding and a Brother’s Farewell; how Kurt Vonnegut learned the science for Cat’s Cradle (but conveniently left some out).” We again held the talk at Redfield Auditorium, and relaxed in the evening sunshine at the reception afterwards. As usual, the principal lectures were followed by a variety of seminars on topics icy and otherwise. We had focused sessions on sea ice, the impact of ice on climate, and glaciology. This year was a good summer for softball, with the Fellows enjoying some notable successes on the field (against both the other WHOI teams and the staff team at the summer’s close). Some important acknowledgements: Young-Jin Kim helped out with the computers during the first few weeks, and Keith Bradley worked his usual magic in the Lab throughout the summer. The program continues to be indebted to W.H.O.I. Academic Programs, who once more provided a perfect atmosphere. Most unlike the '65 Dodge, Jeanne Fleming, Penny Foster and Janet Fields all contributed importantly to the smooth running of the program.
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Technical Report2007 program of studies : boundary layers(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2008-06) Cenedese, Claudia ; Whitehead, John A. ; Pedlosky, Joseph ; Lentz, Steven J.The topic of the Principal Lectures for the forty-ninth year of the program was “Boundary Layers”. The subject centers around those problems in which the boundary conditions lead to a large gradient near the boundary. Nine of this year’s principal lectures were given by Joe Pedlosky and the tenth was given by Steve Lentz. The fluid mechanics of boundary layers was reviewed, first starting from its classical roots and then extending the concepts to the sides, bottoms, and tops of the oceans. During week four, a mini-symposium on “Ocean Bottom and Surface Boundary Layers” gathered a number of oceanographers and meteorologists together to report recent advances. And, finally, Kerry Emanuel of MIT delivered the Sears Public Lecture to a packed hall in Clark 507. The title was “Divine Wind: The History and Sciences of Hurricanes.”
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Technical Report2008 program of studies : perspectives and challenges in GFD(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2009-03) Balmforth, Neil J. ; Veronis, GeorgeThe GFD Program in 2008 ran with a special theme, in view of the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the program. The first two weeks of Principal Lectures dealt with "Perspectives and Challenges" of the subject, and we commemorated by having ten different lecturers with a diversity of viewpoints and opinions. Though the lectures thereby took less of a pedagogical flavour, each afternoon we saw the fellows grill the lecturers in informal afternoon tutorials. Also by way of celebration, the Oceanographic Institution threw a 50th anniversary party in honour of the Program and the "Founding Fathers." This was held on one of the lawns in front of Walsh Cottage on Friday, June 27th. We saw a variety of familiar faces, some from the very first years of the Program, others from more recent summers. George Veronis and Jack Whitehead read short pieces about the past fifty years, including the unveiling of the "2008 AGU Award for Excellence in Geophysical Education" awarded to the Program by the American Geophysical Union. The party was skillfully organized by Janet Fields and uniformly enjoyed by all. In 2008 the Sears Public Lecture was delivered by Andy Ingersoll (CalTech) and entitled "Weather and Climates of Other Worlds: Lessons for Earth." Andy, a participant of the program for many years, described the insights that could be drawn regarding our own climate from observing those of the other planets in the solar system, observations made particularly clear and compelling by recent space missions. Over a hundred people gathered at Redfield for the lecture, many of whom paused afterwards to enjoy conversation and refreshments at the reception that followed. Other novelties at the 2008 program included Bill Dewar's delivery of a seminar at Walsh in full Scottish regalia, kilt and all. Last, and of course most importantly, we had an industrious group of fellows who rose to the challenge of the Program and contributed tremendously to the anniversary. As always, the WHOI Academic Programs Office and the Physical Oceanography Department provided the administrative backbone to the summer, and Walsh Cottage was perfectly unchanged in its intimacy and rustic atmosphere. Jeanne Fleming, Penny Foster and Janet Fields contributed importantly to the smooth running of the program.
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Technical Report2009 program of studies : nonlinear waves(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2010-01) Buhler, Oliver ; Helfrich, Karl R.The fiftieth year of the program was dedicated to Nonlinear Waves, a topic with many applications in geophysical fluid dynamics. The principal lectures were given jointly by Roger Grimshaw and Harvey Segur and between them they covered material drawn from fundamental theory, fluid experiments, asymptotics, and reaching all the way to detailed applications. These lectures set the scene for the rest of the summer, with subsequent daily lectures by staff and visitors on a wide range of topics in GFD. It was a challenge for the fellows and lecturers to provide a consistent set of lecture notes for such a wide-ranging lecture course, but not least due to the valiant efforts of Pascale Garaud, who coordinated the write-up and proof-read all the notes, we are very pleased with the final outcome contained in these pages. This year’s group of eleven international GFD fellows was as diverse as one could get in terms of gender, origin, and race, but all were unified in their desire to apply their fundamental knowledge of fluid dynamics to challenging problems in the real world. Their projects covered a huge range of physical topics and at the end of the summer each student presented his or her work in a one-hour lecture. As always, these projects are the heart of the research and education aspects of our summer study.
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Technical Report2010 program of study : swirling and swimming in turbulence(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2011-06) Balmforth, Neil J. ; Thiffeault, Jean-LucSwirling and Swimming in Turbulence was the theme at the 2010 GFD Program. Professors Glenn Flierl (M.I.T.), Antonello Provenzale (ISAC-CNR, Turin) and Jean-Luc Thiffeault (University of Wisconsin) were the principal lecturers. Together they navigated an elegant path through topics ranging from mixing protocols and efficiencies to ecological strategies, schooling and genetic development. The first ten chapters of this volume document these lectures, each prepared by pairs of this summer’s GFD fellows. Following on are the written reports of the fellows’ own research projects.
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Technical Report2011 program of study : shear turbulence : onset and structure(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2011-08) Lebovitz, Norman ; Morrison, PhilipThe theme for the Program in Geophysical Fluid Dynamics for the summer of 2011 was Shear Turbulence: onset and structure. Ten days of principal lectures by FabianWale e and Rich Kerswell began the summer, and a large number of seminars on this and a variety of other topics then continued through the eighth week. These lectures are presented in these Proceedings and form (we believe) the most complete, connected account of this subject) Eleven fellows from around the globe helped to record the principal lectures, and each carried out a project of his/her own, presented in seminar during the tenth and nal week. All these lectures and projects are also presented in this Proceedings volume. The further seminars presented throughout the summer by visitors and (in some cases) by GFD faculty are also listed here. The popular Sears Lecture was given by L. Mahadevan. The title was On growth and form: geometry, physics and biology. It was indeed popular, drawing a large and enthusiastic audience.
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Technical Report2012 program of study : coherent structures(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2013-11) Caulfield, Colm-cille ; Doering, CharlesThe 2012 GFD Program theme was Coherent structures with Professors Jeffrey Weiss of the University of Colorado at Boulder and Edgar Knobloch of the University of California at Berkeley serving as principal lecturers. Together they introduced the audience in the cottage and on the porch to a fascinating mixture of models, mathematics and applications. Deep insights snaked through the whole summer, as the principal lecturers stayed on to participate in the traditional debates and contributed stoutly to the supervision of the fellows. The first ten chapters of this volume document these lectures, each prepared by pairs of the summer's GFD fellows. Following the principal lecture notes are the written reports of the fellows' own research projects. In 2012, the Sears Public Lecture was delivered by Professor Howard Bluestein, of the University of Oklahoma on the topic of "Probing tornadoes with mobile doppler radars". The topic was particularly suitable for the summer's theme: a tornado is a special examples of a vortex, perhaps the mother of all coherent structures in fluid dynamics. Howie "Cb" showed how modern and innovative measurement techniques can yield valuable information about the formation and evolution of tornadoes, as well as truly amazing images.