scholarly journals Diagnosis of the Vertical Motions in a Mesoscale Stirring Region

2007 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 1413-1424 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cédric Legal ◽  
Patrice Klein ◽  
Anne-Marie Treguier ◽  
Jerome Paillet

Abstract A high-resolution survey was conducted as part of the 2001 Programme Ocean Multidisciplinaire Meso Echelle (POMME 2) experiment in a region of the northeast Atlantic Ocean characterized by a large number of strongly interacting mesoscale eddies. The survey was located between mesoscale eddies in an area where the horizontal stirring processes were dominant. Diagnosis, using SeaSoar data combined with the analysis of altimeter data, reveals an energetic vertical velocity field involving elongated thin structures with alternate signs and amplitude up to 20 m day−1. The 3D dynamics involved in the appearance of these vertical motions is the restoration of the thermal wind balance within the small-scale density filaments that are elongated by the stirring processes. These experimental results reinforce the conclusions of previous numerical studies pointing out the necessity to explicitly include the effects of the filamentation process in ocean models.

2018 ◽  
Vol 856 ◽  
pp. 135-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. T. Salesky ◽  
W. Anderson

A number of recent studies have demonstrated the existence of so-called large- and very-large-scale motions (LSM, VLSM) that occur in the logarithmic region of inertia-dominated wall-bounded turbulent flows. These regions exhibit significant streamwise coherence, and have been shown to modulate the amplitude and frequency of small-scale inner-layer fluctuations in smooth-wall turbulent boundary layers. In contrast, the extent to which analogous modulation occurs in inertia-dominated flows subjected to convective thermal stratification (low Richardson number) and Coriolis forcing (low Rossby number), has not been considered. And yet, these parameter values encompass a wide range of important environmental flows. In this article, we present evidence of amplitude modulation (AM) phenomena in the unstably stratified (i.e. convective) atmospheric boundary layer, and link changes in AM to changes in the topology of coherent structures with increasing instability. We perform a suite of large eddy simulations spanning weakly ($-z_{i}/L=3.1$) to highly convective ($-z_{i}/L=1082$) conditions (where$-z_{i}/L$is the bulk stability parameter formed from the boundary-layer depth$z_{i}$and the Obukhov length $L$) to investigate how AM is affected by buoyancy. Results demonstrate that as unstable stratification increases, the inclination angle of surface layer structures (as determined from the two-point correlation of streamwise velocity) increases from$\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FE}\approx 15^{\circ }$for weakly convective conditions to nearly vertical for highly convective conditions. As$-z_{i}/L$increases, LSMs in the streamwise velocity field transition from long, linear updrafts (or horizontal convective rolls) to open cellular patterns, analogous to turbulent Rayleigh–Bénard convection. These changes in the instantaneous velocity field are accompanied by a shift in the outer peak in the streamwise and vertical velocity spectra to smaller dimensionless wavelengths until the energy is concentrated at a single peak. The decoupling procedure proposed by Mathiset al.(J. Fluid Mech., vol. 628, 2009a, pp. 311–337) is used to investigate the extent to which amplitude modulation of small-scale turbulence occurs due to large-scale streamwise and vertical velocity fluctuations. As the spatial attributes of flow structures change from streamwise to vertically dominated, modulation by the large-scale streamwise velocity decreases monotonically. However, the modulating influence of the large-scale vertical velocity remains significant across the stability range considered. We report, finally, that amplitude modulation correlations are insensitive to the computational mesh resolution for flows forced by shear, buoyancy and Coriolis accelerations.


Geophysics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 85 (6) ◽  
pp. S327-S342
Author(s):  
Shohei Minato ◽  
Kees Wapenaar ◽  
Ranajit Ghose

To quantitatively image fractures with high resolution, we have developed an elastic least-squares migration (LSM) algorithm coupled with linear-slip theory, which accurately addresses seismic wave interaction with thin structures. We derive a linearized waveform inversion using the Born approximation to the boundary integral equation for scattered waves, including linear-slip interfaces for P-SV and SH wavefields. Numerical modeling tests assuming a laboratory-scale fracture where a 20 cm long fracture is illuminated by waves with a 50 kHz center frequency show that our LSM successfully estimates fracture compliances. Furthermore, due to the presence of coupling compliances at the fracture, the results using our LSM show better images than those using the conventional LSM estimating the Lamé constants. We also numerically illustrate that our LSM can be successfully applied to dipole acoustic borehole logging data with 3 kHz center frequency for single-well reflection imaging of a 10 m long, dipping fracture embedded in a random background. Finally, we apply LSM to laboratory experimental data, measuring PP reflections from a fluid-filled fracture. We confirm that the estimated fracture compliances correspond well to those estimated by earlier amplitude variation with offset inversion. Furthermore, the LSM resolves the spatially varying fracture compliances due to local filling of water in the fracture. Because the linear-slip theory can be applied to thin structures in a wide range of scales, high-resolution imaging results and estimated fracture compliance distributions will be crucial to further address small-scale properties at fractures, joints, and geologic faults.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonja Gisinger ◽  
Johannes Wagner ◽  
Benjamin Witschas

Abstract. Coordinated airborne measurements were performed by the two research aircraft DLR Falcon and HALO (High Altitude and Long Range Aircraft) in Scandinavia during the GW-LCYCLE~II (Investigation of the life cycle of gravity waves) campaign in 2016 to investigate gravity wave processes in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) region. A mountain wave event was probed over Southern Scandinavia on 28 January 2016. The collected dataset constitutes a valuable combination of in-situ measurements and horizontal- and altitude-resolved wind lidar and water vapour lidar measurements. In-situ data at different flight altitudes and downward pointing Doppler wind lidar measurements show pronounced changes of the horizontal scales in the vertical velocity field and of the leg-averaged momentum fluxes (MF) in the UTLS region. The vertical velocity field was dominated by small horizontal scales with a decrease from around 20 km to


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lanman Li ◽  
Xuhua Cheng

<p>Mesoscale eddies that known as a dominant reservoir of kinetic energy has been studied extensively for its dynamics and variation.In order to maintain energy budget equilibrium,the energy stored in mesoscale eddies is dissipated by small scale processes around centimeters.Submesoscale processes that lie between mesoscale and microscale motions effectively extract energy from mesoscale motions and transfer to smaller scales.The Bay of Bengal(the BOB) receives large fresh water from precipitation and river runoff resulting in strong salinity fronts that conducive to the generation of submesoscale processes.Using the Regional Ocean Modeling System(ROMS) data with two horizontal resolutions:a high-resolution(~1.6km) that is partially resolve submesoscale,and a low-resolution(~7km) that not resolves submesoscale,we focus on the seasonality of submesoscale processes in the Bay of Bengal.To ensure that only the submesoscale motions is considered,we choose 40km as the length to separate submesoscale from the flow field.Results show that submesocale processes is ubiquitous in the BOB,mainly trapped in the mixed layer.As resolution increasing,submesoscale motions become much stronger.Seasonality of submesoscale in the BOB is apparent and is different from the Gulf stream region  which is strongest in winter and weakest in summer.Submesoscale features in this region mostly present in fall,which the most important mechanisms is frontogenesis due to strong horizontal buoyancy flux associated with large strain.Submesoscale motions is also vigorous in winter.The proposed mechanism is that the depth of mixed layer is deep enough which contributes to the occurrence of mixed layer instability.During the whole year,mesoscale strain field is weakest in summer,which makes submesoscale weakest.</p>


2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 431-451 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. N. Estrada-Allis ◽  
B. Barceló-Llull ◽  
E. Pallàs-Sanz ◽  
A. Rodríguez-Santana ◽  
J. M. A. C. Souza ◽  
...  

AbstractThe complex structure of the vertical velocity field inside an anticyclonic eddy located just south of the Canary Islands is analyzed through a high-resolution ocean model. Based on the flow divergence, vertical velocity is decomposed into various forcing components. The analysis reveals that advection and stretching of vorticity are the most important forcing contributions to the vertical velocity within the eddy. In the mixed layer, a small-scale multipolar vertical velocity pattern dominates. This is the result of vertical mixing effects that enhance the surface vertical velocity by increasing the ageostrophic velocity profile. As a result, an ageostrophic secondary circulation arises that acts to restore thermal-wind balance, inducing strong vertical motions. Nonlinear Ekman pumping/suction patterns resemble the small-scale vertical velocity field, suggesting that nonlinear Ekman effects are important in explaining the complex vertical velocity, despite an overestimate of its magnitude. In the eddy thermocline, the vertical velocity is characterized by a dipolar pattern, which experiences changes in intensity and axisymmetrization with time. The dipolar vertical velocity distribution arises from the imbalance between the advection and stretching of the vorticity forcing terms. A vertical velocity dipole is also obtained by solving a generalized omega equation from density and horizontal velocity fields, which also shows a preponderance of the ageostrophic term. The ubiquity of dipolar vertical velocity distributions inside isolated anticyclones is supported by recent observational findings in the same oceanic region.


Author(s):  
Yoram Rubin

This chapter deals with computing the velocity fields in heterogeneous media. This is a broad area, and we shall concentrate here on upscaling, on the spatial correlation pattern of the velocity, and on accuracy measures for techniques that compute velocity fields. Numerical simulations of velocity fields in heterogeneous media (Ababou et al., 1988, 1989; Bellin et al., 1992, 1994; Bellin and Rubin, 1996; Dykaar and Kitandis, 1992a,b; Hassan et al., 1998a,b; Salandin and Fiorotto, 1998) indicate that to capture accurately the effects of the spatial variability of the conductivity on the velocity field, the conductivity field should be modeled with high resolution. Techniques for generating highly detailed realizations of rock properties were reviewed earlier. Because of the huge level of detail included in these realizations, large-scale flow simulations can become computationally intensive. However, the need for fine detail varies over the aquifer. For example, a high level of detail is needed where the velocity field may vary rapidly, such as near wells, or over areas traversed by a contaminant plume, or for describing small-scale features which dominate the flow, such as high-conductivity channels. Coarsening the grid over areas where high resolution is unnecessary can reduce the computational effort. To be able to do that, a procedure is needed for assigning properties such as conductivity on a coarser scale which is more appropriate for simulation, while avoiding the loss of important details. Such a procedure is called upscaling (also scale-up). Upscaling assigns properties to blocks based on subgrid-scale heterogeneity. Upscaling leads to block-effective properties. Unlike effective properties, block-effective properties depend on the size of the block. In the limit of block dimensions much larger than the integral scale of the heterogeneity, the block-effective properties become equal to the media's effective properties. Unlike the case of effective conductivities, there is no consensus about the definition of block conductivity. For example, Rubin and Gomez-Hernandez (1990) defined the block conductivity as the coefficient of proportionality between the block-averaged flux and the gradient. Indelman and Dagan (1993a, b) stipulated that the block-effective conductivity should dissipate energy at a rate equal to the dissipation due to the small-scale heterogeneity.


1998 ◽  
Vol 37 (11) ◽  
pp. 131-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. F. Krajewski ◽  
A. Kruger ◽  
V. Nespor

A high-resolution rainfall observatory was established at the Iowa Institute of Hydraulic Research to support studies of small scale rainfall variability. It includes a vertically pointing X-band radar, a two-dimensional video disdrometer, an optical rain gauge, a standard tipping bucket raingauge, and high temporal resolution sensors for measurements of wind velocity and direction, temperature, humidity, and pressure. All the instruments are collocated. The observatory is being upgraded to include a Doppler processor for the radar, a mobile platform to enable participation in community-organized hydrometeorological experiments, and a network of about 15 high-resolution raingauges to be installed at a nearby airport. The airport network design includes innovative concepts of dual sensors constituting a single observational point, connected to the same data logger. The observational points are separated with distances ranging from 10-1000 metres. We present comparisons of data collected by the various sensors and discuss implications for radar-rainfall estimation. The capabilities of the experimental setup at IIHR will facilitate numerical studies of rainfall measurements. In particular, we present results of computational fluid dynamics calculations of the measurement error of the video disdrometer based on the high resolution observations of drop size distribution and wind velocity.


2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (12) ◽  
pp. 11-20
Author(s):  
Baiyang Chen ◽  
Lingling Xie ◽  
Quanan Zheng ◽  
Lei Zhou ◽  
Lei Wang ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (S359) ◽  
pp. 312-317
Author(s):  
Francoise Combes

AbstractGas fueling AGN (Active Galaxy Nuclei) is now traceable at high-resolution with ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter Array) and NOEMA (NOrthern Extended Millimeter Array). Dynamical mechanisms are essential to exchange angular momentum and drive the gas to the super-massive black hole. While at 100pc scale, the gas is sometimes stalled in nuclear rings, recent observations reaching 10pc scale (50mas), may bring smoking gun evidence of fueling, within a randomly oriented nuclear gas disk. AGN feedback is also observed, in the form of narrow and collimated molecular outflows, which point towards the radio mode, or entrainment by a radio jet. Precession has been observed in a molecular outflow, indicating the precession of the radio jet. One of the best candidates for precession is the Bardeen-Petterson effect at small scale, which exerts a torque on the accreting material, and produces an extended disk warp. The misalignment between the inner and large-scale disk, enhances the coupling of the AGN feedback, since the jet sweeps a large part of the molecular disk.


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