  We present a geometric analysis of the incompressible averaged Euler
equations for an ideal inviscid fluid. We show that solutions of these
equations are geodesics on the volume-preserving diffeomorphism group of a new
weak right invariant pseudo metric. We prove that for precompact open subsets
of ${\mathbb R}^n$, this system of PDEs with Dirichlet boundary conditions are
well-posed for initial data in the Hilbert space $H^s$, $s>n/2+1$. We then use
a nonlinear Trotter product formula to prove that solutions of the averaged
Euler equations are a regular limit of solutions to the averaged Navier-Stokes
equations in the limit of zero viscosity. This system of PDEs is also the model
for second-grade non-Newtonian fluids.
