Convection Processes in the Ocean-Laboratory and Theoretical Studies

Abstract

My long-term goal is to make observations in the laboratory and then conduct associated experiments based on the theory of nonlinear fluid dynamics in the ocean. Two processes were studied recently. The first is the behavior of convective flow driven by two distinct buoyancy sources in which more than one flow pattern is found for exactly the same forcing conditions. A primary objective was to determine the quantitative role of mixing upon circulation. The second is the strength and size of flows from sidewall forcing in rotating stratified fluid. The primary objective was to document the flow patterns near a line source of heat located at mid-depth on the periphery of a cylinder in a rotating stratified fluid. Both are poorly understood but known to be important in assorted oceanic phenomena. With the ultimate objective of conducting experiments for rotating flows, we have been able to develop a chamber whose floor was heated and which has an inflow of salty water near the top. This chamber was connected to a large tank of room temperature fresh water through a slot. The prototype experiments indicated that mixing within the chamber must be limited for the flows to differ from the simple box models mentioned above. Thus a theory for undermixed exchange flow was developed (theory supported by NSF) and successfully tested. The results were used to design an undermixed doubly driven chamber. Mixing was varied by changing the elevation of a tube which introduces the salty water. For boundary layer processes in rotating stratified fluid, boundary layers produced by heating from the side have been produced in a laboratory cylinder of thermally stratified water on a turntable. The results are compared with calculations by Joseph Pedlosky. A variety of other theoretical solutions have been developed which reveal these boundary layers and their strength in great detail.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1998
Accession Number
ADA551422

Entities

People

  • John A. Whitehead

Organizations

  • Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Boundaries
  • Boundary Layer
  • Buildings And Structures
  • Buoyancy
  • Convection
  • Flow
  • Fluid Dynamics
  • Fluid Flow
  • Fluid Mechanics
  • Fluids
  • Fresh Water
  • Layers
  • Models
  • Numbers
  • Observation
  • Prandtl Number
  • Stratified Fluids

Readers

  • Coastal Oceanography
  • Fluid Dynamics.