Reproducing results of Helfrich and Battisti (1991): (Plumes in rotating, stratified, quiescent fluid)

Helfrich and Battisti observed baroclinic vortices form at a central source in stratified fluid, and then separate and migrate around their tank.

Initial stratification seemed pretty good, but adding fish flakes after the filling was a big mistake. There was also a distinct, slow mean anticylonic flow in the tank.

The plume equilibrated at mid-depth, as hoped, and the circulation was definitely anticyclonic, except very near the top of the tank, adjacent to the source.

A final experiment (trial 8) confirmed our basic intuition that these plumes in this experimental set up should rotate anticyclonically at the outflow depth...