We present results from direct numerical simulations of the Boussinesq equations in the presence of rotation and/or stratification, both in the vertical direction. The runs are forced isotropically and randomly at small scales and have spatial resolutions of up to $1024^3$ grid points and Reynolds numbers of $\approx 1000$. We first show that solutions with negative energy flux and inverse cascades develop in rotating turbulence, whether or not stratification is present. However, the purely stratified case is characterized instead by an early-time, highly anisotropic transfer to large scales with almost zero net isotropic energy flux. This is consistent with previous studies that observed the development of vertically sheared horizontal winds, although only at substantially later times. However, and unlike previous works, when sufficient scale separation is allowed between the forcing scale and the domain size, the total energy displays a perpendicular (horizontal) spectrum with power law behavior compatible with $\sim k_\perp^{-5/3}$, including in the absence of rotation. In this latter purely stratified case, such a spectrum is the result of a direct cascade of the energy contained in the large-scale horizontal wind, as is evidenced by a strong positive flux of energy in the parallel direction at all scales including the largest resolved scales.
It is necessary to introduce an external forcing to induce turbulence in a stably stratified fluid. The Heisenberg eddy viscosity technique should in this case suffice to calculate a space-time averaged quantity like the global anisotropy parameter as a function of the Richardson number. We find analytically that the anisotropy increases linearly with the Richardson number, with a small quadratic correction. A numerical simulation of the complete equations shows the linear behaviour.
An experimental study is reported of the near-critical reflection of internal gravity waves over sloping topography in a stratified fluid. An overturning instability close to the slope and triggering the boundary-mixing process is observed and characterized. These observations are found in good agreement with a recent nonlinear theory.
We present models for single-particle dispersion in vertical and horizontal directions of stably stratified flows. The model in the vertical direction is based on the observed Lagrangian spectrum of the vertical velocity, while the model in the horizontal direction is a combination of a continuous-time eddy-constrained random walk process with a contribution to transport from horizontal winds. Transport at times larger than the Lagrangian turnover time is not universal and dependent on these winds. The models yield results in good agreement with direct numerical simulations of stratified turbu…
Linear stability of inviscid, parallel, and stably stratified shear flow is studied under the assumption of smooth strictly monotonic profiles of shear flow and density, so that the local Richardson number is positive everywhere. The marginally unstable modes are systematically found by solving a one-parameter family of regular Sturm-Liouville problems, which can determine the stability boundaries more efficiently than solving the Taylor-Goldstein equation directly. By arguing for the non-existence of a marginally unstable mode, we derive new sufficient conditions for stability, which generali…
The universal velocity log law first proposed by von Kármán in the near-wall region of turbulent shear flows is one of the cornerstones of turbulence theory. When buoyancy effects are important, the universal velocity log law is typically believed to break down according to Monin-Obukhov similarity theory (MOST), which has been used in almost all global weather and climate models to describe the dependence of the mean velocity profiles on buoyancy in the atmospheric boundary layer. In contrast to MOST, we propose new logarithmic profiles of near-wall mean velocity in the stably stratified atmo…
We study the effect of different forcing functions and of the local gradient Richardson number Rig on the vertical mixing of Lagrangian tracers in stably stratified turbulence under the Boussinesq approximation, and present a wave and continuous-time random walk model for single- and two- particle vertical dispersion. The model consists of a random superposition of linear waves with their amplitude based on the observed Lagrangian spectrum of vertical velocity, and a random walk process to capture overturning that depends on the statistics of Rig among other Eulerian quantities. The model is i…
According to the celebrated Bolgiano--Obukhov \citep{Bolgiano_1959,Obukhov_1959} phenomenology for moderately stably stratified turbulence, the energy spectrum in the inertial range shows a dual scaling; the kinetic energy follows (i) $\sim k^{-11/5}$ for $k < k_B$, and (ii) $\sim k^{-5/3}$ for $k > k_B$, where $k_B$ is Bolgiano wavenumber. The $k^{-5/3}$ scaling akin to passive scalar turbulence is a direct consequence of the assumption that buoyancy is insignificant for $k>k_B$. We revisit this assumption, and using constancy of kinetic and potential energy fluxes and simple theoretical anal…
We use a database of direct numerical simulations to evaluate parametrizations for energy dissipation rate in stably stratified flows. We show that shear-based formulations are more appropriate for stable boundary layers than commonly used buoyancy-based formulations. As part of the derivations, we explore several length scales of turbulence and investigate their dependence on local stability.
Marangoni instabilities can emerge when a liquid interface is subjected to a concentration or temperature gradient. It is generally believed that for these instabilities bulk effects like buoyancy are negligible as compared to interfacial forces, especially on small scales. Consequently, the effect of a stable stratification on the Marangoni instability has hitherto been ignored. Here we report, for an immiscible drop immersed in a stably stratified ethanol-water mixture, a new type of oscillatory solutal Marangoni instability which is triggered once the stratification has reached a critical v…
On dissipation time scales of the basic second-order moments: the effect on the Energy and Flux-Budget (EFB) turbulence closure for stably stratified turbulence
The evolution of a localized vortex in stably stratified flow, within the Boussinesq approximation, is analyzed using the fluid impulse concept. The set of equations describing the temporal development of the fluid impulse has an integro-differential character where the terms representing the effect of stratification appear as convolution integral of the component of the fluid impulse and time-depended 'memory' functions. These functions are calculated for the case where the external parallel shear flow varies only in the direction gravitational force and is subjected to localized two- and thr…
We study experimentally temperature fluctuations in stably stratified forced turbulence in air flow. In the experiments with an imposed vertical temperature gradient, the turbulence is produced by two oscillating grids located nearby the side walls of the chamber. Particle Image Velocimetry is used to determine the turbulent and mean velocity fields, and a specially designed temperature probe with sensitive thermocouples is employed to measure the temperature field. We found that the ratio $\big[(\ell_x \nabla_x \bar{T})^2 + (\ell_y \nabla_y \bar{T})^2 + (\ell_z \nabla_z \bar{T})^2\big] / <θ^2…
We observe the emergence of strong vertical drafts in direct numerical simulations of the Boussinesq equations in a range of parameters of geophysical interest. These structures, which appear intermittently in space and time, generate turbulence and enhance kinetic and potential energy dissipation, providing a possible explanation for the observed variability of the local energy dissipation in the bulk of oceanic flows, and the modulation of its probability distribution function. We show how, due to the extreme drafts, in runs with Froude numbers observable in geophysical scenarios, roughly 10…
Global intermittency is observed in the stably stratified Atmospheric Boundary Layer (ABL) and corresponds to having large nonturbulent flow regions to develop in an otherwise turbulent flow. In this paper, the differences between continuous and intermittent turbulence are quantified with the help of coherent structures. Eight classes of coherent structures are identified from literature, most of which are indicated by scalar criteria derived from velocity fields. A method is developed to geometrically classify structures into three categories: blob-like, tube-like or sheet-like. An alternate …
In this study, we explore several integral and outer length scales of turbulence which can be formulated by using the dissipation of temperature fluctuations ($χ$) and other relevant variables. Our analyses directly lead to simple yet non-trivial parameterizations for both $χ$ and the structure parameter of temperature ($C_T^2$). For our purposes, we make use of high-fidelity data from direct numerical simulations of stratified channel flows.
We investigate the linear stability of shears near the Couette flow for a class of 2D incompressible stably stratified fluids. Our main result consists of nearly optimal decay rates for perturbations of stationary states whose velocities are monotone shear flows $(U(y),0)$ and have an exponential density profile. In the case of the Couette flow $U(y)=y$, we recover the rates predicted by Hartman in 1975, by adopting an explicit point-wise approach in frequency space. As a by-product, this implies optimal decay rates as well as Lyapunov instability in $L^2$ for the vorticity. For the previously…
Numerical simulations of a thin layer of turbulent flow in stably stratified conditions within the Boussinesq approximation have been performed. The statistics of energy transfer among scales have been investigated for different values of control parameters: thickness of the layer and density stratification. It is shown that in a thin layer with a quasi-two-dimensional phenomenology, stratification provides a new channel for the energy transfer towards small scales and reduces the inverse cascade. The role of vortex stretching and enstrophy flux in the transfer of kinetic energy into potential…
We examine how known unstable equilibria of the Navier-Stokes equations in plane Couette flow adapt to the presence of an imposed stable density difference between the two boundaries for varying values of the Prandtl number $Pr$, the ratio of viscosity to density diffusivity, and fixed moderate Reynolds number, $Re=400$. In the two asymptotic limits $Pr \to 0$ and $Pr \to \infty$, it is found that such solutions exist at arbitrarily high bulk stratification but for different physical reasons. In the $Pr \to 0$ limit, density variations away from a constant stable density gradient become vanish…
We present numerical investigations into three principal properties of the small-scale dynamo in stably stratified turbulence: the onset criterion, the growth rate, and the nature of the magnetic field anisotropy in the kinematic regime. The results suggest that all three dynamo properties are controlled by the scale separation between the Ozmidov scale and the viscous or resistive scale. In addition to the critical magnetic Reynolds number, this allows for the definition of critical buoyancy and magnetic buoyancy Reynolds numbers for stratified small-scale dynamo onset in the high and low mag…
We investigate exact and near resonant triad interactions (RTI) in a two-dimensional stably stratified uniform shear flow confined between two infinite parallel walls in the absence of viscous and diffusive effects. RTI occur when three interacting waves satisfy the resonance conditions of the form $k_1 \pm k_2 = k_3$ and $ω_1 \pm ω_2 = ω_3$ with $k_i$ and $ω_i$ being the wavenumber and frequency of the ith wave ($i \in {1,2,3}$), respectively. The linear stability problem is solved analytically, which gives the eigenfunctions in the form of the modified Bessel functions. It is identified that…
Inertial particles in stably stratified flows play a fundamental role in geophysics, from the dynamics of nutrients in the ocean to the dispersion of pollutants in the atmosphere. We consider the Maxey-Riley equation for small neutrally buoyant inertial particles in the Boussinesq approximation, and discuss its limits of validity. We show that particles behave as forced damped oscillators, with different regimes depending on the particles Stokes number and the fluid Brunt-Väisälä frequency. Using direct numerical simulations we study the particles dynamics and we show that small neutrally buoy…
Stably stratified layers are present in stellar interiors (radiative zones) as well as planetary interiors - recent observations and theoretical studies of the Earth's magnetic field seem to indicate the presence of a thin, stably stratified layer at the top of the liquid outer core. We present direct numerical simulations of this region, which is modelled as an axisymmetric spherical Couette flow for a stably stratified fluid embedded in a dipolar magnetic field. For strong magnetic fields, a super-rotating shear layer, rotating nearly 30% faster than the imposed rotation rate difference betw…
In this paper we characterize the scaling of energy spectra, and the interscale transfer of energy and enstrophy, for strongly, moderately and weakly stably stratified two-dimensional (2D) turbulence under large-scale random forcing. In the strongly stratified case, a large-scale vertically sheared horizontal flow (VSHF) co-exists with small scale turbulence. The VSHF consists of internal gravity waves and the turbulent flow has a kinetic energy (KE) spectrum that follows an approximate $k^{-3}$ scaling with zero KE flux and a robust positive enstrophy flux. The spectrum of the turbulent poten…
We use a simplified model to study wave reflection and transmission at interface of convective region and stably stratified region (e.g. radiative zone in star or stratification layer in gaseous planet). Inertial wave in convective region and gravito-inertial wave in stably stratified region are considered. We begin with polar area and then extend to any latitude. Six cases are discussed (see Table 1), and in Case 2 both waves co-exist in both regions. Four configurations are further discussed for Case 2. The angles and energy ratios of wave reflection and transmission are calculated. It is fo…
We present an investigation of rapidly rotating (small Rossby number $Ro\ll 1$) and stratified turbulence where the stratification strength is varied from weak (large Froude number $Fr\gg1$) to strong ($Fr\ll1$). The investigation is set in the context of a reduced model derived from the Boussinesq equations that efficiently retains anisotropic inertia-gravity waves with order-one frequencies and highlights a regime of wave-eddy interactions. Numerical simulations of the reduced model are performed where energy is injected by a stochastic forcing of vertical velocity, which forces wave modes o…
Budgets of turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) and turbulent potential energy (TPE) at different scales $\ell$ in sheared, stably stratified turbulence are analyzed using a filtering approach. Competing effects in the flow are considered, along with the physical mechanisms governing the energy fluxes between scales, and the budgets are used to analyze data from direct numerical simulation (DNS) at buoyancy Reynolds number $Re_b=O(100)$. The mean TKE exceeds TPE by an order of magnitude at the large scales, with the difference reducing as $\ell$ is decreased. At larger scales, buoyancy is never obse…
Drift of interfaces in forced stably-stratified turbulence and the role of vertically-sheared helical structures
Department of Physics & INFN, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”（罗马第二大学物理系及意大利国家核物理研究所）；INFN Sezione di Lecce（意大利国家核物理研究所莱切分部）；CNR NANOTEC（意大利国家研究委员会纳米技术研究所）
There is a clear distinction between simple laminar and complex turbulent fluids. But in some cases, as for the nocturnal planetary boundary layer, a stable and well-ordered flow can develop intense and sporadic bursts of turbulent activity which disappear slowly in time. This phenomenon is ill-understood and poorly modeled; and yet, it is central to our understanding of weather and climate dynamics. We present here a simple model which shows that in stably stratified turbulence, the stronger bursts can occur when the flow is expected to be more stable. The bursts are generated by a rapid non-…
In this paper, the properties of stably stratified turbulence (SST) and turbulent thermal convection are contrasted. A key difference between these flows is the sign of the kinetic energy feed by buoyancy, $\mathcal{F}_B$. For SST, $\mathcal{F}_B < 0$ due to its stable nature; consequently, the kinetic energy flux $Π_u(k)$ decreases with wavenumber $k$ that leads to a steep kinetic energy spectrum, $E_u(k) \sim k^{-11/5}$. Turbulent convection is unstable, hence $\mathcal{F}_B > 0$ that leads to an increase of $Π_u(k)$ with $k$; this increase however is marginal due to relatively weak buoyancy…
We present a numerical investigation of three-dimensional, short-wavelength linear instabilities in Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) vortices in homogeneous and stratified environments. The base flow, generated using two-dimensional numerical simulations, is characterized by the Reynolds number and the Richardson number defined based on the initial one-dimensional velocity and buoyancy profiles. The local stability equations are then solved on closed streamlines in the vortical base flow, which is assumed quasi-steady. For the unstratified case, the elliptic instability at the vortex core dominates at ea…
In this paper we explore the fast rotation, nonhydrostatic limit of the rotating and stratified Boussinesq equations. We derive new reduced equations for the slow dynamics that describe Taylor-Proudman flows. One new aspect of the dynamics is a decoupling of the horizontal kinetic energy, described by 2D Navier-Stokes, from new dynamics that describe the coupling of vertical kinetic energy and buoyancy. We support the theory with high resolution numerical simulations of the full Boussinesq equations that, in this limit, reveal the spontaneous formation of Taylor-Proudman columns and their dyna…
In this study, the stability dependence of turbulent Prandtl number ($Pr_t$) is quantified via a novel and simple analytical approach. Based on the variance and flux budget equations, a hybrid length scale formulation is first proposed and its functional relationships to well-known length scales are established. Next, the ratios of these length scales are utilized to derive an explicit relationship between $Pr_t$ and gradient Richardson number. In addition, theoretical predictions are made for several key turbulence variables (e.g., dissipation rates, normalized fluxes). The results from our p…
Turbulent fluxes in the atmospheric surface layer are key input for the prediction of weather, hydrology, and carbon dioxide concentration. In numerical modelling of turbulent fluxes, a -7/3 power-law scaling in turbulence cospectra is usually assumed at high wavenumbers. In eddy-covariance (EC) measurements of turbulent fluxes, an assumed shape of turbulence cospectra is typically required for high-frequency spectral corrections, typically assuming a -7/3 power law. The derivation of -7/3 power-law scaling is based primarily on dimensional analysis, and other cospectral scaling has also been …
The effects of turbulent dynamic range on scalar mixing in stably stratified turbulence are investigated by an adaptation of the theoretical passive scalar modelling arguments of Beguier et al. (1978) and demonstrated statistically using direct numerical simulations of statistically stationary homogeneous stratified and sheared turbulence (SHSST). By analysis of inertial and inertial-convective subrange scaling, we show that the relationship between active scalar and turbulence time scales is predicted by the ratio of the Kolmogorov and Oboukhov-Corrsin constants provided there is sufficient s…
We investigated experimentally stably stratified turbulent flows in a lid driven cavity with a non-zero vertical mean temperature gradient in order to identify the parameters governing the mean and turbulent flows and to understand their effects on the momentum and heat transfer. We found that the mean velocity patterns (e.g., the form and the sizes of the large-scale circulations) depend strongly on the degree of the temperature stratification. In the case of strong stable stratification, the strong turbulence region is located in the vicinity of the main large-scale circulation. We detected …
The letter considers non-isothermal fluid flows and revises simplifications of basic hydrodynamic equations for such flows arriving eventually to a generalization of the Oberbeck-Boussinesq approximation valid for arbitrary equation of state including both non-ideal gases as well as liquids. The proposed approach is based on a suggested general definition of potential temperature. Special attention is put on the energy conservation principle, and it is shown that the proposed approximation exactly preserves the total mechanical energy by approximate equations of motion. The principal importanc…
The topic of turbulent transport in a stellar radiative zone is vast and poorly understood. Many physical processes can potentially drive turbulence in stellar radiative zone but the limited observational constraints and the uncertainties in modelling turbulent transport make it difficult to identify the most relevant one. Here, we focus on the effect of stable stratification on the radial turbulent transport of chemicals and more particularly on the case where the turbulence is driven by a radial shear. Results of numerical simulations designed to test phenomenological models of turbulent tra…
We show that the phase space of stratified turbulence mainly consists of two slow invariant manifolds with rich physics, embedded on a larger basin with fast evolution. A local invariant manifold in the vicinity of the fluid at equilibrium corresponds to waves, while a global invariant manifold corresponds to the onset of local convection. Using a reduced model derived from the Boussinesq equations, we propose that waves accumulate energy nonlinearly up to a point such that fluid elements escape from the local manifold and evolve fast to the global manifold, where kinetic energy can be more ef…
We have predicted theoretically and detected in laboratory experiments a new type of particle clustering (tangling clustering of inertial particles) in a stably stratified turbulence with imposed mean vertical temperature gradient. In this stratified turbulence a spatial distribution of the mean particle number density is nonuniform due to the phenomenon of turbulent thermal diffusion, that results in formation of a gradient of the mean particle number density, \nabla N, and generation of fluctuations of the particle number density by tangling of the gradient, \nabla N, by velocity fluctuation…
Analyzing a large data base of high-resolution three-dimensional direct numerical simulations of decaying rotating stratified flows, we show that anomalous mixing and dissipation, marked anisotropy, and strong intermittency are all observed simultaneously in an intermediate regime of parameters in which both waves and eddies interact nonlinearly. A critical behavior governed by the stratification occurs at Richardson numbers of order unity, and with the flow close to being in a state of instability. This confirms the central dynamical role, in rotating stratified turbulence, of large-scale int…
We present a turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) closure scheme for the stably stratified atmosphere in which the mixing lengths for momentum and heat are not parameterized in the same manner. The key difference is that, while the mixing length for heat tends towards the stability independent mixing length for momentum in neutrally stratified conditions, it tends towards one based on the Brunt-Väisälä time scale and square root of the TKE in the limit of large stability. This enables a unique steady-state solution for TKE to be obtained, which we demonstrate would otherwise be impossible if the mix…
We perform two high resolution direct numerical simulations of stratified turbulence for Reynolds number equal to Re~25000 and Froude number respectively of Fr~0.1 and Fr~0.03. The flows are forced at large scale and discretized on an isotropic grid of 2048^3 points. Stratification makes the flow anisotropic and introduces two extra characteristic scales with respect to homogeneous isotropic turbulence: the buoyancy scale, L_B, and the Ozmidov scale, l_{oz}. The former is related to the number of layers that the flow develops in the direction of gravity, the latter is regarded as the scale at …
