The Laboratory Modelling of Atmospheric Vortices: A Critical Review

Recent experiments on concentrated vortices produced by swirling flow into a constricted, cylindrical tube have resulted, we believe, in a new understanding of vortex flows in a variety of similar devices, the main purposes of which have been to simulate atmospheric vortices. As a major part of this review we present a synopsis of these new results and show their connection to various laboratory models of atmospheric vortices. The utility of such models in the study of large scale atmospheric flows is also discussed.