Some statistical properties of certain geophysical transport equations

Summary A previously noted analogy between certain transport equations and the heat conductivity equation is further analyzed. It is shown thatPrigogine's nonequilibrium formalism can be directly applied to statistical processes where there is a non-negative constant of the motion. If the total mass (of contaminant, tracer etc.) contained in a fluctuating system is taken as such a constant of the motion, a statistical theory of the corresponding transport process is obtained.