The Dynamics of Rotating Fluids

This textbook on rotating fluid dynamics combines a pedagogical development of theoretical ideas with a description and analysis of many of the fascinating examples of rotating flows found in nature. The book is self-contained, starting in Part I with introductory chapters on fluid dynamics and waves. The largest section of the book is Part II, where a broad theoretical framework is developed for rotating flows, including Ekman layers, inertial waves, Taylor columns, Rossby waves, precession, instabilities, rotating convection, vortex breakdown, and rotating turbulence. The book ends, in Part III, with an analysis of some naturally occurring rotating flows, including tornadoes and dust devils, tidal vortices, tropical cyclones, convection in planetary cores, zonal winds in planetary atmospheres, and astrophysical accretion discs. Davidson presents a unique combination of a deep but broad theoretical framework with a detailed discussion of many naturally occurring flows. Moreover, the book places great emphasis on the pedagogical development of theoretical ideas and the physical insight that brings.

1 - A Qualitative Introduction to Rotating Fluids
2 - A Crash Course on Incompressible Fluid Dynamics
3 - Waves and Waves in Fluids
4 - Moving into a Rotating Frame of Reference, the Taylor-Proudman Theorem, and the Formation of Taylor Columns
5 - Ekman Boundary Layers
6 - Inertial Waves I
7 - Inertial Waves II
8 - Rossby Waves
9 - Rotating, Shallow-Water Flow
10 - Precession
11 - Instability I
12 - Instability II
13 - Vortex Breakdown
14 - A Glimpse at Rapidly Rotating Turbulence
15 - Tornadoes, Dust Devils, and Tidal Vortices
16 - Tropical Cyclones
17 - Convective Motion in the Earth’s Core and the Geodynamo
18 - Zonal (East-West) Winds and Rossby-Wave Turbulence
19 - Accretion Discs in Astrophysics

Professor Peter Davidson is a Professor of Fluid Mechanics at the University of Cambridge. He has worked as a research engineer in industry in both the UK and USA, and has authored over 100 publications in the fields of magnetohydrodynamics and turbulence.