Laboratory experiments investigate the radial spread of an intrusion created by a turbulent forced plume in uniformly stratified ambient fluid. The flow evolution is determined as it depends upon the ambient buoyancy frequency, N, and the source momentum and buoyancy fluxes, M0 and F0, respectively. The plume reaches its maximum vertical extent, Zm, collapses back upon itself as a fountain and ...

Plumes are typically formed when a continuous source of buoyancy is supplied at a localized source. We studied laminar plumes where buoyancy is supplied by an autocatalytic chemical reaction: The iodate-arsenous acid (IAA) reaction. The nonlinear kinetics of the IAA reaction produces a sharp propagating front at which buoyancy is produced by exothermicity and compositional change. When the reac...

If I change the rotation rate of Earth, what happens to the circulation? Start with Hadley cell; what is a relevant conserved quantity for air parcels uplifted by a Hadley cell? How does that relate to winds away from the equator? How does that related to winds in mid-latitude & in part, to meteorological activity there? Why is there a Hadley cell? If an air parcel in the northern hemisphere is...

The energy- and flux-budget (EFB) theory developed previously for atmospheric stably stratified turbulence is extended to the surface layer in convective turbulence. This based on budget equations turbulent energies fluxes Boussinesq approximation. In lower part of boundary layer, rate production kinetic energy (TKE) caused by shear much larger than that buoyancy, which results three-dimensiona...

Satellite altimetric observations of the ocean reveal surface pressure patterns in the core of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) that propagate downstream (eastward) but slower than the mean surface current by about 25%. The authors argue that these observations are suggestive of baroclinically unstable waves that have a steering level at a depth of about 1 km. Detailed linear stability c...

The reported study examines the dynamics of entrainment and its effects on the evolution of the dry atmospheric convective boundary layer (CBL) when wind shear is present. The sheared CBL can be studied by means of direct measurements in the atmosphere, laboratory studies, and numerical techniques. The advantages and disadvantages of each technique are discussed in the present paper, which also...

Stably stratified canopy flow in complex terrain has been considered a difficult condition for measuring net ecosystem–atmosphere exchanges of carbon, water vapor, and energy. A long-standing advection error in eddy-flux measurements is caused by stably stratified canopy flow. Such a condition with strong thermal gradient and less turbulent air is also difficult for modeling. To understand the ...