Experimental observation using particle image velocimetry of inertial waves in a rotating fluid

Inertial waves generated by a small oscillating disk in a rotating water filled cylinder are observed by means of a corotating particle image velocimetry system. The wave takes place in a stationary conical wavepacket, whose angle aperture depends on the oscillation frequency. Direct visualisation of the velocity and vorticity fields in a plane normal to the rotation axis are presented. The characteristic wavelength is found to be approximately equal to the disk diameter. The classical dispersion relation for plane waves is verified from the radial location of the wavepacket, and from the ellipticity of the projected velocity diagram.