The DPAO team studies the dynamics and physics of the Earth’s fluid envelopes, atmosphere and ocean, from the turbulent to the planetary scale. It analyzes the mechanisms using a rich array of observation tools (satellite, measurement campaigns), and a hierarchy of theoretical and numerical models.

Among the fundamental geophysical structures of interest to the team’s researchers are atmospheric and oceanic eddy structures. In the ocean, the subjects of study focus on the role of these structures in heat transfer, biogeochemical cycles and interactions with the atmosphere. For the atmosphere, current research focuses on the coupling between the organisation of convection and the formation of tropical cyclones, the evolution of extra-tropical cyclones from the Mediterranean basin to the polar seas, as well as on the link between stratospheric anticyclones of synoptic to global scale and aerosols from forest fires.
More generally, turbulence in geophysical fluids is a central object of study in the team, which is involved in theoretical and observational advances on various aspects ranging from oceanic turbulence to convective clouds and their impact on the Earth’s radiation balance.
Another aspect of the dynamics at the heart of DPAO’s work is that of atmospheric oscillations of various scales. Gravity waves emitted by convective clouds, mountains or flow instabilities are studied in terms of their impact on cloud variability and stratospheric circulation. The team is also interested in the large-scale waves responsible for synoptic and seasonal variability at mid and polar latitudes, as well as climate oscillations and their effects in the context of global change.

To make progress on these aspects, DPAO researchers combine advanced conceptual and numerical modeling approaches with ambitious experimental research including laboratory experiments, new satellite measurements and measurement campaigns at sea, in airborne and under balloons. They focus on quantifying the roles of these processes in the climate system and design new approaches to represent them in models and assess their impacts on weather forecasting. As such, the team contributes to the development of various components of the IPSL climate model and to the evaluation of climate models.