Abstract
Laboratory experiments of rotating turbulence at a Rossby number of order unity show three robust phenomena: (i) the rapid formation of columnar eddies aligned with the rotation axis; (ii) a dominance of cyclonic eddies over anti-cyclones; and (iii) a reduction in the rate of energy decay [1], [2]. We review recent experimental results which confirm that the observed columnar eddies are simply transient Taylor columns formed by linear inertial wave propagation [2], a phenomenon which was predicted earlier on the basis of angular momentum conservation [1]. We also offer an explanation for the dominance of cyclones. Finally, we provide evidence that the kinetic energy decays as u2 ~ (Ωt)-1, a result which can be explained in terms of the conservation of a Loitsyansky-like integral.
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