scholarly journals Diapycnal Transport near a Sloping Bottom Boundary

2020 ◽  
Vol 50 (11) ◽  
pp. 3253-3266
Author(s):  
R. M. Holmes ◽  
Trevor J. McDougall
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Mixing Layer ◽  
Buoyancy Flux ◽  
Bottom Boundary ◽  
One Dimensional ◽  
Dimensional Boundary ◽  
Velocity Changes ◽  
Stratified Ocean ◽  
The One ◽  
Sloping Bottom

AbstractThe diapycnal motion in the stratified ocean near a sloping bottom boundary is studied using analytical solutions from one-dimensional boundary layer theory. Bottom-intensification of the diapycnal mixing intensity ensures that in the stratified mixing layer (SML), where isopycnals are relatively flat, the diapycnal motion is downward toward denser fluid. In contrast, convergence of the diffusive buoyancy flux near the seafloor drives diapycnal upwelling in what we define as the bottom boundary layer (BBL). Much of the one-dimensional BBL is characterized by a stratification only slightly reduced from that in the SML because the maximum in the buoyancy flux at the top of the BBL, where the diapycnal velocity changes sign, must occur in well-stratified fluid. The diapycnal upwelling in the BBL is determined by variations not only in the magnitude of the buoyancy gradient but also in the curvature of isopycnals. The net diapycnal upwelling is concentrated in the bottom half of the BBL where the magnitude of the buoyancy gradient changes most rapidly. The curvature effect drives upwelling near the seafloor that only makes a significant contribution to the net upwelling for steep slopes. The structure of the diapycnal velocity in this stratified BBL differs from the case of a turbulent well-mixed BBL that has been assumed in some recent theoretical studies on bottom-intensified mixing. This work therefore extends recent theories in a way that should be more applicable to abyssal ocean observations where well-mixed BBLs are not common.

scholarly journals Dynamics of eddying abyssal mixing layers over rough topography

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henri Drake ◽  
Xiaozhou Ruan ◽  
Raffaele Ferrari ◽  
Andreas Thurnherr ◽  
Kelly Ogden ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
One Dimensional ◽  
Basin Scale ◽  
Dimensional Boundary ◽  
Mid Atlantic Ridge ◽  
Non Local ◽  
The One ◽  
Abyssal Mixing

The abyssal overturning circulation is thought to be primarily driven by small-scale turbulent mixing. Diagnosed watermass transformations are dominated by rough topography "hotspots", where the bottom-enhancement of mixing causes the diffusive buoyancy flux to diverge, driving widespread downwelling in the interior—only to be overwhelmed by an even stronger upwelling in a thin Bottom Boundary Layer (BBL). These watermass transformations are significantly underestimated by one-dimensional sloping boundary layer solutions, suggesting the importance of three-dimensional physics. Here, we use a hierarchy of models to generalize this one-dimensional boundary layer approach to three-dimensional eddying flows over realistically rough topography. When applied to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge in the Brazil Basin, the idealized simulation results are roughly consistent with available observations. Integral buoyancy budgets isolate the physical processes that contribute to realistically strong BBL upwelling. The downwards diffusion of buoyancy is primarily balanced by upwelling along the canyon flanks and the surrounding abyssal hills. These flows are strengthened by the restratifying effects of submesoscale baroclinic eddies on the canyon flanks and by the blocking of along-ridge thermal wind within the canyon. Major topographic sills block along-thalweg flows from restratifying the canyon trough, resulting in the continual erosion of the trough's stratification. We propose simple modifications to the one-dimensional boundary layer model which approximate each of these three-dimensional effects. These results provide \textit{local} dynamical insights into mixing-driven abyssal overturning, but a complete theory will also require the non-local coupling to the basin-scale circulation.

scholarly journals Simulating Real Atmospheric Boundary Layers at Gray-Zone Resolutions: How Do Currently Available Turbulence Parameterizations Perform?

Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula Doubrawa ◽  
Domingo Muñoz-Esparza
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Turbulent Transport ◽  
Model Performance ◽  
Wrf Model ◽  
Turbulent Energy ◽  
Complex Problem ◽  
Gray Zone ◽  
Horizontal Structure ◽  
One Dimensional ◽  
Dimensional Boundary

Recent computational and modeling advances have led a diverse modeling community to experiment with atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) simulations at subkilometer horizontal scales. Accurately parameterizing turbulence at these scales is a complex problem. The modeling solutions proposed to date are still in the development phase and remain largely unvalidated. This work assesses the performance of methods currently available in the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model to represent ABL turbulence at a gray-zone grid spacing of 333 m. We consider three one-dimensional boundary layer parameterizations (MYNN, YSU and Shin-Hong) and coarse large-eddy simulations (LES). The reference dataset consists of five real-case simulations performed with WRF-LES nested down to 25 m. Results reveal that users should refrain from coarse LES and favor the scale-aware, Shin-Hong parameterization over traditional one-dimensional schemes. Overall, the spread in model performance is large for the cellular convection regime corresponding to the majority of our cases, with coarse LES overestimating turbulent energy across scales and YSU underestimating it and failing to reproduce its horizontal structure. Despite yielding the best results, the Shin-Hong scheme overestimates the effect of grid dependence on turbulent transport, highlighting the outstanding need for improved solutions to seamlessly parameterize turbulence across scales.

scholarly journals Estuarine Boundary Layer Mixing Processes: Insights from Dye Experiments*

2007 ◽  
Vol 37 (7) ◽  
pp. 1859-1877 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Chant ◽  
Wayne R. Geyer ◽  
Robert Houghton ◽  
Elias Hunter ◽  
James Lerczak
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Richardson Number ◽  
Flood Tide ◽  
Buoyancy Flux ◽  
Bottom Boundary Layer ◽  
Buoyancy Frequency ◽  
Entrainment Rate ◽  
Diapycnal Mixing ◽  
Bottom Boundary ◽  
Shear Production

Abstract A series of dye releases in the Hudson River estuary elucidated diapycnal mixing rates and temporal variability over tidal and fortnightly time scales. Dye was injected in the bottom boundary layer for each of four releases during different phases of the tide and of the spring–neap cycle. Diapycnal mixing occurs primarily through entrainment that is driven by shear production in the bottom boundary layer. On flood the dye extended vertically through the bottom mixed layer, and its concentration decreased abruptly near the base of the pycnocline, usually at a height corresponding to a velocity maximum. Boundary layer growth is consistent with a one-dimensional, stress-driven entrainment model. A model was developed for the vertical structure of the vertical eddy viscosity in the flood tide boundary layer that is proportional to u2*/N∞, where u* and N∞ are the bottom friction velocity and buoyancy frequency above the boundary layer. The model also predicts that the buoyancy flux averaged over the bottom boundary layer is equal to 0.06N∞u2* or, based on the structure of the boundary layer equal to 0.1NBLu2*, where NBL is the buoyancy frequency across the flood-tide boundary layer. Estimates of shear production and buoyancy flux indicate that the flux Richardson number in the flood-tide boundary layer is 0.1–0.18, consistent with the model indicating that the flux Richardson number is between 0.1 and 0.14. During ebb, the boundary layer was more stratified, and its vertical extent was not as sharply delineated as in the flood. During neap tide the rate of mixing during ebb was significantly weaker than on flood, owing to reduced bottom stress and stabilization by stratification. As tidal amplitude increased ebb mixing increased and more closely resembled the boundary layer entrainment process observed during the flood. Tidal straining modestly increased the entrainment rate during the flood, and it restratified the boundary layer and inhibited mixing during the ebb.

Low-level wind profiles at an Antarctic coastal station

1989 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.C. King
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Temperature Profiles ◽  
Pressure Gradients ◽  
Synoptic Scale ◽  
Layer Model ◽  
Coastal Station ◽  
One Dimensional ◽  
Dimensional Boundary ◽  
Sloping Surface ◽  
Wind Profiles

Wind and temperature profiles in the lowest 2000 m of the atmosphere at Halley (75°35′S, 26°50′W) have been analysed. Surface winds blow most frequently from the sector 090° ± 45° but the 2000 m wind direction is much more evenly distributed and appears to be determined by synoptic-scale pressure gradients. A simple one-dimensional boundary layer model, which includes the effects of stably-stratified air overlying a sloping surface, is able to reproduce some of the features of the observed profiles.

scholarly journals Tracer Transport within Abyssal Mixing Layers

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (10) ◽  
pp. 2669-2695 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. M. Holmes ◽  
Casimir de Lavergne ◽  
Trevor J. McDougall
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Mixing Layer ◽  
Spreading Rate ◽  
Tracer Diffusion ◽  
Mixing Layers ◽  
Tracer Transport ◽  
Bottom Boundary ◽  
Bulk Diffusivity ◽  
Rate Of Increase

AbstractMixing layers near sloped topography in the abyss are thought to play a critical role in the global overturning circulation. Yet the behavior of passive tracers within sloping boundary layer systems has received little attention, despite the extensive use of tracer observations to understand abyssal circulation. Here, we investigate the behavior of a passive tracer released near a sloping boundary within a flow governed by one-dimensional boundary layer theory. The spreading rate of the tracer across isopycnals is influenced by factors such as the bottom-intensification of mixing, the dipole of upwelling (in the boundary layer) and downwelling (in the outer mixing layer), and along-isopycnal diffusion. For isolated near-boundary tracer releases, the bulk diffusivity, proportional to the rate of increase of the variance of the tracer distribution in buoyancy space, is much less than what would be expected from averaging the diapycnal diffusivity over the tracer patch. This stems from the presence of the bottom boundary that prevents tracer diffusion through it. Furthermore, when along-isopycnal diffusion is weak, the boundary tends to drive the tracer up the slope toward less dense fluid on average due to asymmetries between boundary layer and interior flows. With strong along-isopycnal diffusion this upslope movement is reduced, while at the same time the average diapycnal spreading rate is increased due to a reduced influence of the bottom boundary. These results have implications for what can be learned about the characteristics of mixing near sloping boundaries from past and future tracer-release experiments.

scholarly journals Behavior of Three-Dimensional Boundary Layers in a Radial Inflow Turbine Scroll

1993 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazuo Hara ◽  
Masato Furukawa ◽  
Masahiro Inoue
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Secondary Flow ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Radial Pressure ◽  
Inlet Region ◽  
Flow Phenomena ◽  
Dimensional Boundary ◽  
Radial Inflow Turbine ◽  
The One ◽  
Circumferential Nonuniformity

A detailed experimental investigation was carried out to examine the three-dimensional boundary layer characteristics in a radial inflow turbine scroll. Some basic flow phenomena and growth of secondary flow were also investigated. In the inlet region of the scroll, the incoming boundary layer begins to have the skewed nature, namely the radially inward secondary flow caused by the radial pressure gradient. From the inlet region to the one third of the scroll circumference, the secondary flow grows so strongly that the most of the low momentum fluid in the incoming boundary layer are transported to the nozzle region. The succeeding elimination of the low momentum fluid in the boundary layer suppresses growth of the boundary layer further downstream, where the boundary layer shows a similarity of velocity profile. The distributions of the boundary layer properties in the scroll correspond well to those of the flow properties at the nozzle. The behavior of the boundary layer in the scroll is found to affect the circumferential nonuniformity of the nozzle flow field.

A New Approach for the Derivation of the Similarity Equation of the 2-D Unsteady Boundary Layer Equations

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md. Abdus Sattar
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Numerical Solutions ◽  
Similarity Solutions ◽  
Length Scale ◽  
Local Similarity ◽  
Unsteady Boundary Layer ◽  
Similarity Equation ◽  
Boundary Layer Equations ◽  
Dimensional Boundary ◽  
The One

A local similarity equation for the hydrodynamic 2-D unsteady boundary layer equations has been derived based on a time dependent length scale initially introduced by the author in solving several unsteady one-dimensional boundary layer problems. Similarity conditions for the potential flow velocity distribution are also derived. This derivation shows that local similarity solutions exist only when the potential velocity is inversely proportional to a power of the length scale mentioned above and is directly proportional to a power of the length measured along the boundary. For a particular case of a flat plate the derived similarity equation exactly corresponds to the one obtained by Ma and Hui[1]. Numerical solutions to the above similarity equation are also obtained and displayed graphically.

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