Vortex structure in rotating Rayleigh-Benard convection

We investigate the flow patterns in a cylindrical rotating Rayleigh-Benard convection cell with radius-to-height ratio Gamma = 0.5. The Rayleigh numbe r R is 2 x 10(8), the dimensionless rotation rate Omega varies from 9.6 x 1 0(3) to 4.8 x 10(4), and the convective Rossby number Ro is between 0.31 an d 0.06. Measurements of the velocity field in the volume adjacent to the to p of the cell are acquired with a scanning particle image velocimetry (PN) system. We present quantitative results for velocity and vorticity of the c yclonic and anticyclonic vortices characterizing the convection, as well as for the dependence of the vortex size on the rotation rate and variation o f vorticity with depth. Copyright (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science B. V.