Microbial activity in the benthic boundary layer: Small-scale distribution and its relationship to the hydrodynamic regime

1996 ◽  
Vol 36 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 171-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
W Ritzrau
1983 ◽  
Vol 40 (S1) ◽  
pp. s301-s308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Drew A. Carey

The effect of the projecting tubes of Lanice conchilega (Terebellidae) on particle flux in the benthic boundary layer was studied in laboratory flume experiments. Intact tubes, worms, and flume sediment were collected from an ebb channel of the Tay Estuary. Experiments were performed with dye and high contrast, near-neutral density particles to determine flow patterns and net particle movement in individual tube wakes. Projecting tubes produced characteristic vortex patterns which may increase resuspension of sediment particles. These vortex patterns were not strongly dependent on obstacle shape or flow regime and resulted in pronounced upward motion of fluid from the bed. Particle velocities within the wake were lower than ambient free stream velocity. Results of flume observations reported are consistent with detailed visualization studies of small-scale disturbances within a laminar boundary layer.Key words: resuspension, boundary layer, benthos, tubes, polychaete, Lanice conchilega, flow visualization


2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (5) ◽  
pp. 1451-1466 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holger Siebert ◽  
Katrin Lehmann ◽  
Manfred Wendisch

Abstract Tethered balloon–borne measurements with a resolution in the order of 10 cm in a cloudy boundary layer are presented. Two examples sampled under different conditions concerning the clouds' stage of life are discussed. The hypothesis tested here is that basic ideas of classical turbulence theory in boundary layer clouds are valid even to the decimeter scale. Power spectral densities S( f ) of air temperature, liquid water content, and wind velocity components show an inertial subrange behavior down to ≈20 cm. The mean energy dissipation rates are ∼10−3 m2 s−3 for both datasets. Estimated Taylor Reynolds numbers (Reλ) are ∼104, which indicates the turbulence is fully developed. The ratios between longitudinal and transversal S( f ) converge to a value close to 4/3, which is predicted by classical turbulence theory for local isotropic conditions. Probability density functions (PDFs) of wind velocity increments Δu are derived. The PDFs show significant deviations from a Gaussian distribution with longer tails typical for an intermittent flow. Local energy dissipation rates ɛτ are derived from subsequences with a duration of τ = 1 s. With a mean horizontal wind velocity of 8 m s−1, τ corresponds to a spatial scale of 8 m. The PDFs of ɛτ can be well approximated with a lognormal distribution that agrees with classical theory. Maximum values of ɛτ ≈ 10−1 m2 s−3 are found in the analyzed clouds. The consequences of this wide range of ɛτ values for particle–turbulence interaction are discussed.


2012 ◽  
Vol 696 ◽  
pp. 122-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kan Wang ◽  
Meng Wang

AbstractCompressible large-eddy simulations are carried out to study the aero-optical distortions caused by Mach 0.5 flat-plate turbulent boundary layers at Reynolds numbers of ${\mathit{Re}}_{\theta } = 875$, 1770 and 3550, based on momentum thickness. The fluctuations of refractive index are calculated from the density field, and wavefront distortions of an optical beam traversing the boundary layer are computed based on geometric optics. The effects of aperture size, small-scale turbulence, different flow regions and beam elevation angle are examined and the underlying flow physics is analysed. It is found that the level of optical distortion decreases with increasing Reynolds number within the Reynolds-number range considered. The contributions from the viscous sublayer and buffer layer are small, while the wake region plays a dominant role, followed by the logarithmic layer. By low-pass filtering the fluctuating density field, it is shown that small-scale turbulence is optically inactive. Consistent with previous experimental findings, the distortion magnitude is dependent on the propagation direction due to anisotropy of the boundary-layer vortical structures. Density correlations and length scales are analysed to understand the elevation-angle dependence and its relation to turbulence structures. The applicability of Sutton’s linking equation to boundary-layer flows is examined, and excellent agreement between linking equation predictions and directly integrated distortions is obtained when the density length scale is appropriately defined.


2003 ◽  
Vol 474 ◽  
pp. 1-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
PAOLA COSTAMAGNA ◽  
GIOVANNA VITTORI ◽  
PAOLO BLONDEAUX

The dynamics of the vortex structures appearing in an oscillatory boundary layer (Stokes boundary layer), when the flow departs from the laminar regime, is investigated by means of flow visualizations and a quantitative analysis of the velocity and vorticity fields. The data are obtained by means of direct numerical simulations of the Navier–Stokes and continuity equations. The wall is flat but characterized by small imperfections. The analysis is aimed at identifying points in common and differences between wall turbulence in unsteady flows and the well-investigated turbulence structure in the steady case. As in Jimenez & Moin (1991), the goal is to isolate the basic flow unit and to study its morphology and dynamics. Therefore, the computational domain is kept as small as possible.The elementary process which maintains turbulence in oscillatory boundary layers is found to be similar to that of steady flows. Indeed, when turbulence is generated, a sequence of events similar to those observed in steady boundary layers is observed. However, these events do not occur randomly in time but with a repetition time scale which is about half the period of fluid oscillations. At the end of the accelerating phases of the cycle, low-speed streaks appear close to the wall. During the early part of the decelerating phases the strength of the low-speed streaks grows. Then the streaks twist, oscillate and eventually break, originating small-scale vortices. Far from the wall, the analysis of the vorticity field has revealed the existence of a sequence of streamwise vortices of alternating circulation pumping low-speed fluid far from the wall as suggested by Sendstad & Moin (1992) for steady flows. The vortex structures observed far from the wall disappear when too small a computational domain is used, even though turbulence is self-sustaining. The present results suggest that the streak instability mechanism is the dominant mechanism generating and maintaining turbulence; no evidence of the well-known parent vortex structures spawning offspring vortices is found. Although wall imperfections are necessary to trigger transition to turbulence, the characteristics of the coherent vortex structures, for example the spacing of the low-speed streaks, are found to be independent of wall imperfections.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ginaldi Ari Nugroho ◽  
Kosei Yamaguchi ◽  
Eiichi Nakakita ◽  
Masayuki K. Yamamoto ◽  
Seiji Kawamura ◽  
...  

<p>Detailed observation of small scale perturbation in the atmospheric boundary layer during the first generated cumulus cloud are conducted. Our target is to study this small scale perturbation, especially related to the thermal activity at the first generated cumulus cloud. The observation is performed during the daytime on August 17, 2018, and September 03, 2018. Location is focused in the urban area of Kobe, Japan. High-resolution instruments such as Boundary Layer Radar, Doppler Lidar, and Time Lapse camera are used in this observation. Boundary Layer Radar, and Doppler Lidar are used for clear air observation. Meanwhile Time Lapse Camera are used for cloud existence observation. The atmospheric boundary layer structure is analyzed based on vertical velocity profile, variance, skewness, and estimated atmospheric boundary layer height. Wavelet are used to observe more of the period of the thermal activity. Furthermore, time correlation between vertical velocity time series from height 0.3 to 2 km and image pixel of generated cloud time series are also discussed in this study.</p>


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