The effect of background rotation on fluid motions: a report on Euromech 245

The 245th Euromech Colloquium, on the effect of background rotation on fluid motions, was held in Cambridge from 10–13 April 1989 with the two authors acting as chairmen. There were sixty-five participants with widely different backgrounds. The striking feature of the Colloquium was the recent advances on nonlinear processes. A wide range of nonlinear phenomena was presented and particular emphasis was on the formation and dynamics of coherent vortices. The similarities between the processes in rotating, curved and stratified flows, which lead to anisotropic motions and long-lived coherent structures alongside linear wave motions was a feature of many of the presentations. Fifty-one papers were presented, covering engineering, geophysical and astrophysical applications of rotating fluids. These papers are summarized in this report with the purpose of giving an up-to-date view of current research in rotating fluids.