UC San Diego

The predictions of the extended predator-prey model of the coupled spectral dynamics of drift wave-zonal flow turbulence are presented. The model exhibits three possible types of time-dependent solutions, depending on system parameters, which are: (1) quasiperiodic bursting of the transport and turbulence intensity levels; (2) oscillatory relaxation to a stationary state, and in the collisionless limit; (3) an intensity pulse followed by saturation of zonal flow. These solutions are consistent with the time dependent behavior recently observed in the global gyrokinetic simulations. © 2001 American Institute of Physics.