TY - JOUR
T1 - Time-dependent mixing in stratified Kelvin-Helmholtz billows: Experimental observations
AU - Patterson, Michael D
AU - Caulfield, C P
AU - McElwaine, J N
AU - Dalziel, S B
PY - 2006/8/15
Y1 - 2006/8/15
N2 - Quantitative time-dependent laboratory measurements are made of the irreversible mixing caused by the development, saturation and turbulent breakdown of Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) billows in an initially stable two-layer stratified shear flow of miscible fluids. The measurements are obtained using a light attenuation technique. Irreversible mixing is found to be strongly dependent on the life-cycle of the flow, in particular the characteristics of large-scale, quasi-two-dimensional billow merging events, which stir the flow and then trigger mixing during turbulent transition.
AB - Quantitative time-dependent laboratory measurements are made of the irreversible mixing caused by the development, saturation and turbulent breakdown of Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) billows in an initially stable two-layer stratified shear flow of miscible fluids. The measurements are obtained using a light attenuation technique. Irreversible mixing is found to be strongly dependent on the life-cycle of the flow, in particular the characteristics of large-scale, quasi-two-dimensional billow merging events, which stir the flow and then trigger mixing during turbulent transition.
UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2006GL026949.
U2 - 10.1029/2006GL026949
DO - 10.1029/2006GL026949
M3 - Article
VL - 33
JO - Geophysical Research Letters
JF - Geophysical Research Letters
M1 - L15608
ER -