Turbulence at the source:
The flux Richardson number, Ri, allows comparison of the source fluxes of momentum and buoyancy. A Ri of one indicates equal contributions to the flow. Values less than one indicate jet-like behavior, while values greater than 1 correspond to plume-like behavior.
Source type: Q B M Ri
cm/s cm4/s3 cm4/s2
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350oC vents: 1.3x10^3 3.7x10^5 1.3x10^5 0.30
10oC vents: 1.3x10^5 1.8x10^5 1.3x10^5 27
my source: 1.0 10^-2 very turbulent, orifice: 2mm
H/B* source: 1.0 wider orifice: 8mm
Helfrich and Battisti report vortices with diameters of ~10cm at N/f~1.42. Their tank was square, and about 1.5 times as wide as mine...
Cross-flow is tough! How to get a tank big enough to have circumnavigation time >> rise time?
This suggests simplification. Try N=0 and no cross flow first...
If you have comments, questions, or suggestions, email me at scottv@ocean.washington.edu
This research was conducted within the
University of Washington Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory