For turbulent flows at relatively low speeds there exists a well-established mathematical model in the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. Why then is the "problem of turbulence" so difficult? One reason is that these non-linear partial differential equations appear to be insoluble, except through numerical simulations, which offer useful approximations, but little direct understanding.

Three recent developments offer new hope. Firstly the discovery by experimentalists of coherent structures in certain turbulent flows. Secondly, the suggestion that strange attractors and other ideas from finite-dimensional dynamical systems theory might play a role in the analysis of the governing equations. And, finally, the introduction of the Karhunen-Loeve or proper orthogonal decomposition.

This book introduces these developments and describes how they may be combined to create low-dimensional models of turbulence, resolving only by the coherent structures. This book will interest engineers, especially in the aerospace, chemical, civil, environmental, and geophysical areas, as well as physicists and applied mathematicians concerned with turbulence.