The numerical truncation error of vortex-in-cell methods is analyzed a-posteriori through the effective spectral numerical viscosity for simulations of three-dimensional isotropic turbulence. The interpolation kernels used for velocity-smoothing and re-meshing are identified as the most relevant components affecting the shape of the spectral numerical viscosity as a function of wave number. A l...

A total of four moorings from POLYMODE Array I and II were analyzed in an investigation of internal wavefield-mean flow interactions. In particular, evidence for wave-mean flow interaction was sought by searching for time correlations between the wavefield vertically-acting Reynolds stress (estimated using the temperature and velocity records), and the mean shear. No significant stress-shear co...

The formation mechanism of the Santa Cruz eddy (SCE) is investigated using the fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University–National Center for Atmospheric Research Mesoscale Model (MM5). Simulations of 25–26 August 2000 showed that two eddy instances formed on that night, a finding supported by observations. The two eddies had similar behavior: they both formed in the sheltered Santa Cruz, C...

Two viscous stabilization methods, namely the spectral vanishing viscosity (SVV) technique and the entropy viscosity method (EVM), are applied to flows of interest in geophysics. First, following a study restricted to one space dimension [17], the spectral element approximation of the shallow water equations is stabilized using the EVM. Our recent advances are here carefully described. Second, ...