Universal scaling regimes in rotating fluid turbulence

Abstract

Scaling arguments for steady turbulence in a rotating fluid are set up. These are used to show that it displays dual scaling regimes: a rotation-dominated regime for the largest scales and a Kolmogorov scaling regime for intermediate scales. For decaying rotating turbulence, it is speculated that the energy spectrum, while carrying a decaying amplitude, contains a large-scale rotation-dominated regime that increases in size over time, and an intermediate-scale Kolmogorov scaling regime that shrinks in time.