Amrapalli Garanaik, Ph.D.

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I am a fluid dynamicist and physical oceanographer, interested in the physics of small-scale turbulence and mixing in geophysical and environmental flows. I use a hierarchy of models including Earth system models, direct numerical simulation (DNS), and large eddy simulation (LES) in conjunction with theory and experimental/observational data to study multi-scale interactions & sub-grid scale parameterizations and their impacts on our Earth system.

My Research


New boundary layer scheme for Earth system models

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We developed a new physically-motivated mixing scheme for OSBL turbulence by implimenting it in Model for Prediction Across Scales (MPAS-Ocean), the ocean component of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM). Results show that the proposed mixing scheme can simulate the OSBL physics due to byoyancy, wind, and wave forcing efficiently suggesting its potential use in GCMs to help reduce model biases. Read more...







Stratified turbulence through Direct Numerical Simulations

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This study performs DNS of stably stratified turbulence to better understand flow dynamics & mixing, prodives physics-based improved parameterizations of diapycnal mixing and infering it with measurable quantities providing implications for practical applications. Read more [1], [2], [3]...









Air-sea interaction through satellite observation and in-situ data

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My work in NASA's Sub-Mesoscale Ocean Dynamic Experiments (S-MODE), as a member of air-sea interaction working group and velocity working group within this multi-institutional collaborating project focuses understanding flux estimates and associated SST and ocean current response for improving ocean-atmosphere coupled model by better representing the air-sea fluxes. I have also paricipated in ASIRI prohject to study subsurface mixing in BoB. Read more








Large eddy simulations of Ocean on GPU platform

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This study explores ocean simulatins by running LES (Oceananigans.jl) on different GPU platform, including NVIDIA-GPUs, A100, V100, H100, and on Grace hopper at Oregon State University providing avenues for high-resolution simulations. Read more










Mesoscale mixing through Lagrangian approch in high-rez Ocean model

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In this study, we employed Lagrangian, in Situ, Global, High-performance Particle Tracking (LIGHT) package in high-resolution (eddy-resolving) Model for Prediction Across Scales (MPAS-Ocean), the ocean component of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM) to develop better parameterizations of isopycnal diffusivity. Read more...









Experimental Fluid Mechanics

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This work involves the study of turbulent open-channel flows using Acoustic Doppler Velocimetry (ADV) and Laser Doppler Anemometry (LDA). The experiments are conducted in a recirculating flume at Colorado State University and interesting findings about sensor assessment are presented with implications for practical applications. Read more...