Order Out of Chaos: Slowly Reversing Mean Flows Emerge from Turbulently Generated Internal Waves
Order Out of Chaos: Slowly Reversing Mean Flows Emerge from Turbulently Generated Internal Waves
We demonstrate via direct numerical simulations that a periodic, oscillating mean flow spontaneously develops from turbulently generated internal waves. We consider a minimal physical model where the fluid self-organizes in a convective layer adjacent to a stably stratified one. Internal waves are excited by turbulent convective motions, then nonlinearly interact …