Transitions between flow regimes of baroclinic flow in a rotating annulus of fluid

Baroclinic flow in a rotating annulus of fluid shows remarkable transitions of flow patterns as do Rayleigh–Benard convection and Taylor vortices. There are four flow regimes in two nondimensional parameter space, called a symmetric regime (Hadley regime), a steady wave regime (Rossby regime), a vacillating wave regime and a geostrophic turbulence regime. Laminar flow in a symmetric regime is formed between the balance of a horizontal pressure gradient force and a Coriolis torque (geostrophic balance), and this flow becomes unstable when one of the nondimensional parameters, the thermal Rossby number, becomes less than the critical value. In this paper, the characteristic features of the four flow regimes are reviewed including recent findings about the behavior of geostrophic turbulence.