The mean flow and variability of the Gulf stream-slopewater system from MICOM

2007 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 239-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angelique C. Haza ◽  
Arthur J. Mariano ◽  
Toshio M. Chin ◽  
Donald B. Olson
Keyword(s):  
2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 690-715 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Gula ◽  
M. Jeroen Molemaker ◽  
James C. McWilliams

AbstractThe Gulf Stream strongly interacts with the topography along the southeastern U.S. seaboard, between the Straits of Florida and Cape Hatteras. The dynamics of the Gulf Stream in this region is investigated with a set of realistic, very high-resolution simulations using the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS). The mean path is strongly influenced by the topography and in particular the Charleston Bump. There are significant local pressure anomalies and topographic form stresses exerted by the bump that retard the mean flow and steer the mean current pathway seaward. The topography provides, through bottom pressure torque, the positive input of barotropic vorticity necessary to balance the meridional transport of fluid and close the gyre-scale vorticity balance. The effect of the topography on the development of meanders and eddies is studied by computing energy budgets of the eddies and the mean flow. The baroclinic instability is stabilized by the slope everywhere except past the bump. The flow is barotropically unstable, and kinetic energy is converted from the mean flow to the eddies following the Straits of Florida and at the bump with regions of eddy-to-mean conversion in between. There is eddy growth by Reynolds stress and downstream development of the eddies. Interaction of the flow with the topography acts as an external forcing process to localize these oceanic storm tracks. Associated time-averaged eddy fluxes are essential to maintain and reshape the mean current. The pattern of eddy fluxes is interpreted in terms of eddy life cycle, eddy fluxes being directed downgradient in eddy growth regions and upgradient in eddy decay regions.


2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 1103-1120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dujuan Kang ◽  
Enrique N. Curchitser

AbstractA detailed energetics analysis of the Gulf Stream (GS) and associated eddies is performed using a high-resolution multidecadal regional ocean model simulation. The energy equations for the time-mean and time-varying flows are derived as a theoretical framework for the analysis. The eddy–mean flow energy components and their conversions show complex spatial distributions. In the along-coast region, the cross-stream and cross-bump variations are seen in the eddy–mean flow energy conversions, whereas in the off-coast region, a mixed positive–negative conversion pattern is observed. The local variations of the eddy–mean flow interaction are influenced by the varying bottom topography. When considering the domain-averaged energetics, the eddy–mean flow interaction shows significant along-stream variability. Upstream of Cape Hatteras, the energy is mainly transferred from the mean flow to the eddy field through barotropic and baroclinic instabilities. Upon separating from the coast, the GS becomes highly unstable and both energy conversions intensify. When the GS flows into the off-coast region, an inverse conversion from the eddy field to the mean flow dominates the power transfer. For the entire GS region, the mean current is intrinsically unstable and transfers 28.26 GW of kinetic energy and 26.80 GW of available potential energy to the eddy field. The mesoscale eddy kinetic energy is generated by mixed barotropic and baroclinic instabilities, contributing 28.26 and 9.15 GW, respectively. Beyond directly supplying the barotropic pathway, mean kinetic energy also provides 11.55 GW of power to mean available potential energy and subsequently facilitates the baroclinic instability pathway.


1985 ◽  
Vol 50 (11) ◽  
pp. 2396-2410
Author(s):  
Miloslav Hošťálek ◽  
Ivan Fořt

The study describes a method of modelling axial-radial circulation in a tank with an axial impeller and radial baffles. The proposed model is based on the analytical solution of the equation for vortex transport in the mean flow of turbulent liquid. The obtained vortex flow model is tested by the results of experiments carried out in a tank of diameter 1 m and with the bottom in the shape of truncated cone as well as by the data published for the vessel of diameter 0.29 m with flat bottom. Though the model equations are expressed in a simple form, good qualitative and even quantitative agreement of the model with reality is stated. Apart from its simplicity, the model has other advantages: minimum number of experimental data necessary for the completion of boundary conditions and integral nature of these data.


2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (10) ◽  
pp. 4323-4331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wouter J. M. Knoben ◽  
Jim E. Freer ◽  
Ross A. Woods

Abstract. A traditional metric used in hydrology to summarize model performance is the Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE). Increasingly an alternative metric, the Kling–Gupta efficiency (KGE), is used instead. When NSE is used, NSE = 0 corresponds to using the mean flow as a benchmark predictor. The same reasoning is applied in various studies that use KGE as a metric: negative KGE values are viewed as bad model performance, and only positive values are seen as good model performance. Here we show that using the mean flow as a predictor does not result in KGE = 0, but instead KGE =1-√2≈-0.41. Thus, KGE values greater than −0.41 indicate that a model improves upon the mean flow benchmark – even if the model's KGE value is negative. NSE and KGE values cannot be directly compared, because their relationship is non-unique and depends in part on the coefficient of variation of the observed time series. Therefore, modellers who use the KGE metric should not let their understanding of NSE values guide them in interpreting KGE values and instead develop new understanding based on the constitutive parts of the KGE metric and the explicit use of benchmark values to compare KGE scores against. More generally, a strong case can be made for moving away from ad hoc use of aggregated efficiency metrics and towards a framework based on purpose-dependent evaluation metrics and benchmarks that allows for more robust model adequacy assessment.


2021 ◽  
Vol 108 ◽  
pp. 106377
Author(s):  
Mohammed Faheem ◽  
Aqib Khan ◽  
Rakesh Kumar ◽  
Sher Afghan Khan ◽  
Waqar Asrar ◽  
...  

Fluids ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thorben Helmers ◽  
Philip Kemper ◽  
Jorg Thöming ◽  
Ulrich Mießner

Microscopic multiphase flows have gained broad interest due to their capability to transfer processes into new operational windows and achieving significant process intensification. However, the hydrodynamic behavior of Taylor droplets is not yet entirely understood. In this work, we introduce a model to determine the excess velocity of Taylor droplets in square microchannels. This velocity difference between the droplet and the total superficial velocity of the flow has a direct influence on the droplet residence time and is linked to the pressure drop. Since the droplet does not occupy the entire channel cross-section, it enables the continuous phase to bypass the droplet through the corners. A consideration of the continuity equation generally relates the excess velocity to the mean flow velocity. We base the quantification of the bypass flow on a correlation for the droplet cap deformation from its static shape. The cap deformation reveals the forces of the flowing liquids exerted onto the interface and allows estimating the local driving pressure gradient for the bypass flow. The characterizing parameters are identified as the bypass length, the wall film thickness, the viscosity ratio between both phases and the C a number. The proposed model is adapted with a stochastic, metaheuristic optimization approach based on genetic algorithms. In addition, our model was successfully verified with high-speed camera measurements and published empirical data.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. 3625
Author(s):  
Jon Hardwick ◽  
Ed B. L. Mackay ◽  
Ian G. C. Ashton ◽  
Helen C. M. Smith ◽  
Philipp R. Thies

Numerical modeling of currents and waves is used throughout the marine energy industry for resource assessment. This study compared the output of numerical flow simulations run both as a standalone model and as a two-way coupled wave–current simulation. A regional coupled flow-wave model was established covering the English Channel using the Delft D-Flow 2D model coupled with a SWAN spectral wave model. Outputs were analyzed at three tidal energy sites: Alderney Race, Big Roussel (Guernsey), and PTEC (Isle of Wight). The difference in the power in the tidal flow between coupled and standalone model runs was strongly correlated to the relative direction of the waves and currents. The net difference between the coupled and standalone runs was less than 2.5%. However, when wave and current directions were aligned, the mean flow power was increased by up to 7%, whereas, when the directions were opposed, the mean flow power was reduced by as much as 9.6%. The D-Flow Flexible Mesh model incorporates the effects of waves into the flow calculations in three areas: Stokes drift, forcing by radiation stress gradients, and enhancement of the bed shear stress. Each of these mechanisms is discussed. Forcing from radiation stress gradients is shown to be the dominant mechanism affecting the flow conditions at the sites considered, primarily caused by dissipation of wave energy due to white-capping. Wave action is an important consideration at tidal energy sites. Although the net impact on the flow power was found to be small for the present sites, the effect is site specific and may be significant at sites with large wave exposure or strong asymmetry in the flow conditions and should thus be considered for detailed resource and engineering assessments.


Author(s):  
Alexander Vakhrushev ◽  
Abdellah Kharicha ◽  
Ebrahim Karimi-Sibaki ◽  
Menghuai Wu ◽  
Andreas Ludwig ◽  
...  

AbstractA numerical study is presented that deals with the flow in the mold of a continuous slab caster under the influence of a DC magnetic field (electromagnetic brakes (EMBrs)). The arrangement and geometry investigated here is based on a series of previous experimental studies carried out at the mini-LIMMCAST facility at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR). The magnetic field models a ruler-type EMBr and is installed in the region of the ports of the submerged entry nozzle (SEN). The current article considers magnet field strengths up to 441 mT, corresponding to a Hartmann number of about 600, and takes the electrical conductivity of the solidified shell into account. The numerical model of the turbulent flow under the applied magnetic field is implemented using the open-source CFD package OpenFOAM®. Our numerical results reveal that a growing magnitude of the applied magnetic field may cause a reversal of the flow direction at the meniscus surface, which is related the formation of a “multiroll” flow pattern in the mold. This phenomenon can be explained as a classical magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) effect: (1) the closure of the induced electric current results not primarily in a braking Lorentz force inside the jet but in an acceleration in regions of previously weak velocities, which initiates the formation of an opposite vortex (OV) close to the mean jet; (2) this vortex develops in size at the expense of the main vortex until it reaches the meniscus surface, where it becomes clearly visible. We also show that an acceleration of the meniscus flow must be expected when the applied magnetic field is smaller than a critical value. This acceleration is due to the transfer of kinetic energy from smaller turbulent structures into the mean flow. A further increase in the EMBr intensity leads to the expected damping of the mean flow and, consequently, to a reduction in the size of the upper roll. These investigations show that the Lorentz force cannot be reduced to a simple damping effect; depending on the field strength, its action is found to be topologically complex.


2021 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunming Huang ◽  
Wei Li ◽  
Shaodong Zhang ◽  
Gang Chen ◽  
Kaiming Huang ◽  
...  

AbstractThe eastward- and westward-traveling 10-day waves with zonal wavenumbers up to 6 from surface to the middle mesosphere during the recent 12 years from 2007 to 2018 are deduced from MERRA-2 data. On the basis of climatology study, the westward-propagating wave with zonal wave number 1 (W1) and eastward-propagating waves with zonal wave numbers 1 (E1) and 2 (E2) are identified as the dominant traveling ones. They are all active at mid- and high-latitudes above the troposphere and display notable month-to-month variations. The W1 and E2 waves are strong in the NH from December to March and in the SH from June to October, respectively, while the E1 wave is active in the SH from August to October and also in the NH from December to February. Further case study on E1 and E2 waves shows that their latitude–altitude structures are dependent on the transmission condition of the background atmosphere. The presence of these two waves in the stratosphere and mesosphere might have originated from the downward-propagating wave excited in the mesosphere by the mean flow instability, the upward-propagating wave from the troposphere, and/or in situ excited wave in the stratosphere. The two eastward waves can exert strong zonal forcing on the mean flow in the stratosphere and mesosphere in specific periods. Compared with E2 wave, the dramatic forcing from the E1 waves is located in the poleward regions.


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