On using the levelling of the free surface of a Newtonian fluid to measure viscosity and Navier slip length.

Measuring the relaxation time involved in the levelling of a free surface of a Newtonian fluid laid on a substrate can give access to material parameters. It is shown here how most favourable pattern geometries of the free surface and film thicknesses can be defined for the measures of viscosity and Navier slip length at the fluid-solid interface, respectively. Moreover, we put special emphasis on the conditions required to avoid shear thinning by controlling the maximum shear rate. For initially sinusoidal patterns with infinitesimal amplitudes, an analytical solution including slip at the fluid-solid interface is used, and numerical simulations based on the natural element method allow one to discuss the effect of finite amplitudes. This leads to the definition of a relevance domain for the analytical solution that avoids the need for numerical simulations in practical applications. It is also shown how these results can be applied to crenelated profiles, where Fourier series expansion can be used, but with caution.

A quasi-biennial oscillation signal in general circulation model simulations.

The quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) is a free atmospheric mode that affects the equatorial lower stratosphere. With a quasi-regular frequency, the mean equatorial zonal wind alternates from easterly to westerly regimes. This oscillation is zonally symmetric about the equator, has its largest amplitude in the latitudinal band from 20 degrees S to 20 degrees N, and has a mean period of about 27 months. The QBO appears to originate in the momentum deposition produced by the damping in the stratosphere of equatorial waves excited by diabatic thermal processes in the troposphere. The results of three 10-year simulations obtained with three general circulation models are reported, all of which show the development in the stratosphere of a QBO signal with a period and a spatial propagating structure that are in good agreement with observations without any ad hoc parameterization of equatorial wave forcing. Although the amplitude of the oscillation in the simulations is still less than the observed value, the result is promising for the development of global climate models.