Speaker: Pedro Caltabiano
Affiliation: EPSS, UCLA
Date: Wednesday, May 6, 2026
Time: 12:00 PM
Abstract
Laboratory tank experiments have long served as simplified analogues for planetary fluid dynamics, offering a controlled way to isolate the effects of rotation and external forcings. Although no laboratory setup can reproduce the full complexity of a planet, such experiments can successfully capture the dominant dynamical balances that govern large scale geophysical flows. In this talk, I discuss how tank scale experiments reflect key aspects of planetary fluid dynamics at a conceptual level, with emphasis on what is gained—and what is lost—through this reduction in scale and geometry.