Application of Large-Scale Rotating Platforms in the Study of Complex Oceanic Dynamic Processes

As the core components of geophysical dynamic system, oceans and atmospheres are dominated by the Coriolis force, which governs complex dynamic phenomena such as internal waves, gravity currents, vortices, and others involving multi-scale spatiotemporal coupling. Due to the limitations of in situ observations, large-scale rotating tanks have emerged as critical experimental platforms for simulating Earth’s rotational effects. This review summarizes recent advancements in rotating tank applications for studying oceanic flow phenomena, including mesoscale eddies, internal waves, Ekman flows, Rossby waves, gravity currents, and bottom boundary layer dynamics. Advanced measurement techniques, such as particle image velocimetry (PIV) and planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF), have enabled quantitative analyses of internal wave breaking-induced mixing and refined investigations of vortex merging dynamics. The findings demonstrate that large-scale rotating tanks provide a controllable experimental framework for unraveling the physical essence of geophysical fluid motions. Such laboratory experimental endeavors in a rotating tank can be applied to more extensive scientific topics, in which the rotation and stratification play important roles, offering crucial support for climate model parameterization and coupled ocean–land–atmosphere mechanisms.