on Stratified Flows

Turbulent diffusivity and effective rise velocity of buoyant particles in a free-surface boundary layer

Predicting the transport of buoyant particles in a free-surface boundary layer is important to the study of many environmental systems, including microplastics in the upper ocean. Current transport models, adapted from sediment transport theory, typically rely on assumptions of a quiescent rise velocity and gradient di...

International Symposium on Stratified Flows

Vertical transport and confinement of weakly buoyant particles in a convective ocean mixed-layer model

Understanding how particles such as microplastics and plankton spread, or accumulate in localized regions below the ocean surface is crucial both for the development of sea pollutant control strategies and for marine ecology. Yet the role of vertically inhomogeneous turbulence, due to the vertical structure of density...

A viscous model for atmospheric vortices with a central depression of pressure

In this paper, we present an analytical model for atmospheric vortices that includes three velocity components—radial, azimuthal, and axial together with a pressure distribution. The model modifies a stream function with a central low-pressure core and applies a correction to the azimuthal velocity to capture the Reyno...

Observations of turbulent structures at the base of the ocean mixed layer

Direct observations of coherent turbulent structures at the base of the ocean surface boundary layer are rare. Here, we present a unique dataset from a drifting thermistor chain that captured temperature structures associated with mixed layer and transition layer turbulence. Following a storm with wind speeds up to...

Transport by turbulent subsurface cores in internal solitary waves

Internal solitary waves (ISWs) are known to induce material transport through various mechanisms, with important implications for physical and ecological processes. We report direct numerical simulations of an ISW under conditions favorable for the development of a subsurface core, a situation particularly suitable for...