U.S. Dept. of Commerce / NOAA / OAR / PMEL / Publications

Buoyancy-driven plumes in rotating, stratified cross flows: Plume dependence on rotation, turbulent mixing, and cross-flow strength

J. W. Lavelle

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, Seattle, Washington

Journal of Geophysical Research, 102(C2), 3405-3420 (1997)
Not subject to U.S. copyright. Published in 1997 by the American Geophysical Union.

Gallery of Figures and Tables

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Figure 1. Idealized environmental profiles for u, v, AZ, , S, and . Profile shapes and magnitudes nominally represent conditions in the lowest 300 m of water column above the seafloor spreading center of the Juan de Fuca Ridge, northeast Pacific. The AZ profile controlling the boundary layer thickness is hypothetical, but the shape and magnitude are generally consistent with AZ values deduced from benthic ocean measurements at other sites.

 

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Figure 2. Plume distributions for the reference case (experiment 21, Table 1) at t = 24 hours. The cross-stream direction is y and the along-stream direction is x. (a) on the plane y = 0; (b) on the plane y = 0; (c) on the plane z = 2280 m; (d) on the plane x = 320 m. All contours are in degrees Celsius.

 

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Figure 3. Velocity, , and relative vorticity patterns for the reference case (experiment 21, Table 1) at t = 24 hours. (a) (shaded) and z nondimensionalized by U/D (contoured) at z = 2350 m (z/D = 5); (b) (shaded) and u velocity (contoured) at z = 2280 (z/D = 12); (c) (shaded) and v velocity (contoured) at z = 2280 (z/D = 12). Velocity is in meters per second.

 

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Figure 4. Comparison of rotating (experiment 21) and nonrotating (experiment 22) cases. Velocity u nondimensionalized by U on the plane z = 2380 m (z/D = 2) when = 0 (Figure 4a) and when 0 (Figure 4c). Velocity v nondimensionalized by U on the plane z = 2380 m (z/D = 2) when = 0 (Figure 4b) and when 0 (Figure 4d). For = 0, on the plane x = -60 m (x/D = 4) (Figure 4e) and nondimensional u on the plane x = -60 m (x/D = 4) (Figure 4f).

 

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Figure 5. Relative vorticity, nondimensionalized by U/D, about the x axis, , when = 0 on the planes (a) z = 2380 (z/D = 2), (b) x = -60 m (x/D = 4), and (c) x = 0 (x/D = 10). (d) Relative vorticity, nondimensionalized by U/D, about the y axis, , on the plane y = 0.

 

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Figure 6. for experiments that differ only in the subgrid-scale parameterization (Table 1). Results are represented by dotted contours for experiment 26 (AHMIN = 10 cm s), solid contours for experiment 23 (CS = 0), and shaded contours for experiment 21, the reference case. (a) Cross sections for y = 0, (b) cross sections for z = 2280 m. All contours are in degrees Celsius at 8.3 hours.

 

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Figure 7. Time series of at a fixed point in the plume stem (x/D = 2.25, y = 0, z/D = 12). The dotted line represents the experiment of largest subgrid-scale mixing (experiment 21), while the other two have reduced background mixing (dashed line, experiment 26) or shear independent mixing (solid line, experiment 23).

 

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Figure 8. Contours of in degrees Celsius at 8.3 hours for experiment 24 (U = 0.03 m s, Table 1) at (a) y = 0, (b) z = 2320 m, (c) x = 300 m, and for experiment 25 (U = 0.06 m s, Table 1) at (d) y = 0, (e) z = 2360 m, and (f) x = 300 m. The dotted contour in each panel represents the 0.005°C isopleth for the reference case (experiment 21). Figure 1. Idealized environmental profiles for u, v, AZ, , S, and . Profile shapes and magnitudes nominally represent conditions in the lowest 300 m of water column above the seafloor spreading center of the Juan de Fuca Ridge, northeast Pacific. The AZ profile controlling the boundary layer thickness is hypothetical, but the shape and magnitude are generally consistent with AZ values deduced from benthic ocean measurements at other sites.


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