Turbulence, Waves and Instabilities in Geophysical and Astrophysical Flows

In the last few years breakthrough technologies have made it possible the investigation of extreme environments such as the deep ocean, planetary atmospheres, the heliosphere and the Sun itself. Thanks to the unprecedented resolutions achieved by modern "in-situ" and remote sensing instruments, and the evolution of high performance computing (HPC), research on geophysical and astrophysical flows has become indispensable to advance knowledge on fundamental plasma and fluid dynamics, verify turbulence theories and confirm predictions of statistical mechanics.

A synergistic approach leveraging the combination of observational missions, laboratory experiments, numerical simulations and theoretical modeling - all oriented to the investigation of these natural frameworks - allowed as well major engineering applications with clear benefits for the society, such as: the development of high resolution climate and space weather models, the design of next generation fusion plasma machines, and the manufacturing of devices based on sound and electromagnetic waves technologies for civil and scientific purpose (radar, lidar, ultra-sonic probes, satellites for telecommunications, etc.).

Main mission of SIG50 will be to gather scientists interested in conducting research on geophysical and astrophysical flows to the aim of understanding underlying dynamics, achieve fundamental knowledge of the physical phenomena involved and develop cutting-edge engineering applications. This interdisciplinary group will have the merit of driving the exchange of expertise and resources between the geo- and astro/space- sciences communities and the community of scientists and engineers working on fundamental and industrial multi-scale fluids and plasmas.

The return from the initiatives organized by SIG50 is expected to be excellent in terms of the creation of new collaborations between public/academic and possibly also private partners and - as a direct consequence - the delivery of products, namely scientific publications, patents and not less important outreach materials and events.