Simulations of laboratory experiments
-------------------------------------

:numref:`lab-simulation` shows MITgcm being used to simulate a 
laboratory experiment (:numref:`lab_photo`) inquiring into the dynamics of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC). An
initially homogeneous tank of water (1 m in diameter) is driven from its
free surface by a rotating heated disk. The combined action of mechanical
and thermal forcing creates a lens of fluid which becomes baroclinically
unstable. The stratification and depth of penetration of the lens is
arrested by its instability in a process analogous to that which sets the
stratification of the ACC.


  .. figure:: figs/labflow.png
    :width: 70%
    :align: center
    :alt: lab_photo
    :name: lab_photo

    A 1 m diameter laboratory experiment simulating the dynamics of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current.

  .. figure:: figs/lab.png
    :width: 70%
    :align: center
    :alt: lab-simulation
    :name: lab-simulation

    A numerical simulation of the laboratory experiment using MITgcm.