#vorticity

In planetary atmospheres, energy and vorticity can cascade from large scales to smaller ones, but the mechanics of this transfer remain somewhat elusive. In a recent experiment, researchers built a lab-scale representation of an atmosphere using a meter-scale rotating annular tank. (Image credit: tank - H. Scolan, animation - S. Ding et al.; research credit: S. Ding et al.; via APS)

I love him so much your honor

Timelapse Filmmaker and Storm Chaser Mike Olbinski Photography presents this video of spring and early summer thunderstorms and storm chases on the great plains of the US - mostly recorded in May and June of this year.

VortiCity - aerroscape

Bumblebee flight II

In recent years, smoke from powerful wildfires has raised questions among atmospheric scientists by always swirling in the same direction.  (Image credit: J. Stevens/NASA Earth Observatory; research credit: K. Shah and P. Haynes 1, 2; via APS)

The Martian atmosphere lacks the density to support tornado storm systems, but vortices are nevertheless a frequent occurrence. As sun-warmed gases rise, neighboring air rushes in, bringing with it any twisted shred of vorticity it carries. (Video and image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL/CNES/CNRS/INTA-CSIC/Space Science Institute/ISAE-Supaero/University of Arizona; via Gizmodo) Read the full article