Planetary Science Seminar spring-2013

In many geophysical and astrophysical situations, a turbulent convective fluid layer stays above or below a stably stratified one. Examples include planetary atmospheres and cores, convective and radiative zones of stars, Earth's oceans, ... While the influence of the stratified layer has long been neglected, it can in fact support oscillatory motions (gravito-inertial waves) excited by the neighboring turbulence. These waves carry momentum and energy, thus significantly influence the dynamics of the system under consideration. I will present here simple analytical models as well as two experimental studies designed to obtain a comprehensive description of the properties of the excited wave field and to quantify its interactions with the turbulent motions responsible for its creation.