When trying to understand the role and influence of turbulence in our day to day lives, it is useful to imagine what life would be like without it. Some of the most striking examples relate to how the world around us would be completely different in the absence of turbulent mixing. Let’s consider the mean surface velocity of the Yarra river in Melbourne, Australia, if there were no turbulence. Continue Reading →

Turbulence is more than just the phenomena that leaves airline passengers with a queazy feeling in their stomachs. The rapid fluctuations in wind velocity that causes an aircraft to suddenly lift or drop, are a fundamental property of turbulent flows, however such flows are not restricted to the Earth’s atmosphere and actually have a far more significant effect on our everyday lives. Continue Reading →