Abstract:The atmosphere and ocean are rotating stratified fluids characterised by a superposition of slow-evolving vortices and fast internal waves. In the first part of the talk, I will discuss how laboratory experiments can help us understand the interplay between vortices and internal waves and the role played by the latter in energy transport among scales. In the second part of the talk, I will focus on the D[*]Stratify project, which aims to gain physical insights into a thermally stratified environment — a computer room — driven by non-uniform heating and cooling. We analyse the temperature and CO_2 measurements to understand how thermal stratification is linked to the room occupation and ventilation.