A new optical instrument for the study of bubbles at high voidfractions within breaking waves

An optical imaging system (BubbleCam) has been tested for the quantification of bubble distributions at high void fractions formed beneath breaking waves. The instrument consists of a CCD video camera, stroboscopic light source, and optics allowing adjustable magnification, a fixed imaging volume, and the resolution of bubbles 3 pixels in radius and larger (equivalent to a minimum bubble radius of about 200 μm in the test configuration). BubbleCam has been deployed in a shore-based configuration (data and power supplied via shore-connected cables) as well as an autonomous device in the open sea with its own power supply and data storage. The resulting images are processed using a variant of the Hough transform which allows computer-automated counting and measurement of the bubbles within the video frames. In addition, images can be qualitatively examined to provide insights into bubble plume evolution and creation mechanisms     

Instrumentation for the measurement of void-fraction in breakingwaves: laboratory and field results

The authors report on the development and use of an impedance probe to measure the volume fraction of air (void-fraction) in bubble plumes generated by breaking waves. The void-fraction gauge described was found to be most useful in the initial period after breaking when large void-fractions prevail. The authors describe the instrumentation at length and report on its use in the laboratory and in the field. The instrument is found to be capable of rendering the space-time evolution of the void-fraction field from controlled laboratory breaking waves. Field results show measurements of void-fractions (up to 24%) which are several orders of magnitude greater than time averaged values previously reported. Preliminary measurements show that the fraction of breaking waves per wave is dependent on significant wave height and wind speed. The dependence on wind speed is compared with data of previous investigators. Underwater video photography from the field shows the formation and evolution of distinct bubble plumes and the presence of large bubbles (at least 6-mm radius) generated by breaking     

Acoustic bubble counting technique using sound speed extracted fromsound attenuation

Sound attenuation has been solely used to estimate bubble size distributions of bubbly water in the conventional acoustic bubble sizing methods. These conventional methods are useful for the void fraction around 10^-6 or lower. However, the change of compressibility in the bubbly water also should be considered in bubble sizing for the void fraction around 10^-5 or higher. Recently the sound speed as well as sound attenuation was considered for acoustic bubble size estimation in bubbly water. In this paper, the sound speed estimated from sound attenuation in bubbly water by an iterative method is used for a bubble counting. This new iterative inverse bubble sizing technique is numerically tested for bubble distributions of single-size Gaussian, and power-law functions. The numerical simulation results are in agreement with the given bubble distributions even for the high void fractions of 10^-4-10^-3. It suggests that the iterative inverse technique can be a very powerful tool for practical use in acoustic bubble counting in the ocean     

The influence of bubble clouds on acoustic propagation in the surfzone

High-frequency propagation close to an active surf line is explored with 12and 100-kHz propagation paths together with measurements of bubble clouds, bubble size distributions, and waves. Breaking waves inject massive bubble plumes that are mixed downwards from the roller region by intense turbulence. If these injections follow one another at intervals less than the time taken for the bubbles to rise to the surface, acoustic signals will be continuously blocked, forming an acoustical barrier that effectively inhibits any propagation. Occasionally, waves break seaward of this barrier. In this case, dense bubble clouds are mixed down beneath the air entrainment zone, but there is sufficient time for them to disappear before succeeding breakers, allowing intermittent high-frequency propagation recharge the bubble field. The duration and shape of signal dropouts are then determined by the selective removal of bubbles by buoyancy and dissolution. In addition to turbulence created by the air entrainment process, a lower level of continuous background turbulence may be generated by interaction of residual currents with the wave boundary layer. Our observations illustrate the variable character of acoustic blocking by bubble clouds and serve as a basis for quantitative analysis of these effects with a 2D propagation model coupled to 2D models of bubble cloud evolution and background turbulence     

Unsteady air bubble entrainment and detrainment at a plunging breaker: dominant time scales and similarity of water level variations

At plunging breakers, air bubbles are entrained at the impingement of the water jet, formed at the top of the wave, with the water free surface in front. During the present study, air bubble entrainment at a pseudo-plunging breaker was investigated at near full-scale and further experimental work studied the bubble detrainment process. Experimental observations included the generation and propagation of waves downstream of the plunge point. Experimental results highlighted a number of unsteady air–water flow patterns and emphasise high levels of aeration: i.e., depth-averaged void fraction of more than 10% next to jet impact in shallow waters. Unsteady bubble injection experiments showed a strong vortical motion induced by the rising bubbles. Altogether, the results suggest that a dominant time scale is the bubble rise time d₁/u_r, which cannot be scaled properly with an undistorted Froude model. The study contributes to a better understanding of unsteady bubble entrainment at a pseudo-plunging breaker and the associated vortical circulation.     

Attenuation Measurements Across Surface-Ship Wakes and Computed Bubble Distributions and Void Fractions

A surface ship's wake is composed of several hydrodynamic phenomena. A large part of that wake contains a mixture of air bubbles of various sizes in turbulent water. Eventually, as the wake ages, the turbulence subsides and bubbles begin to rise at rates that are determined by their sizes. These bubbles of various sizes and concentrations control the propagation of acoustic signals inside and across a wake. To further our understanding of these phenomena, a series of three continuous-wave (CW)-pulsed signals were transmitted across a wake as the wake aged. Each transmission contained a set of four 0.5-ms-long pulses. The 12 pulses ranged over frequencies from 30 to 140 kHz in 10-kHz steps. The acoustic attenuations across wakes that were due to varying bubble-size densities within the wakes were determined experimentally. From those data, estimates of the bubble densities as functions of the speed of the wake-generating ship, the wake's age, and acoustic frequency were calculated. From the bubble-density results, power-law fits and void fractions are calculated. The attenuation measurements were taken at 7.5-m intervals behind the wake-generating ship and continued for about 2 km. The experiment was run for wakes generated at ship speeds of 12- and 15-kn wakes, and the 15-kn run was repeated for consistence determination. The bubble densities were observed to have power-law forms with varying parameters with the strongest, for early ages, having an exponent of ${-}$3.6 and a void fraction of 4 $times$ 10$^{-7}$ , and with both diminishing for older wakes, as might be expected.      

近岸破碎波水体掺气及气泡输运过程研究

为准确探讨破碎波作用下气体如何卷入以及气泡的形成与输运特性, 文章结合粒子图像测速技术(particle image velocimetry, PIV)、高速相机和气泡测量系统, 以及基于Navier-Stokes方程的三维数值模型对气泡形成及其运动过程进行研究。研究结果表明: 文章建立的数值模型能合理地捕捉到破碎波作用下气体的卷入及其输运过程; 波浪的破碎会形成较大的气腔, 其破裂过程又将产生大量的气体微团; 气泡会增加水体的紊动, 造成水体与空气交界面附近形成大量的漩涡以及水体的飞溅; 气泡的破裂会消耗大量的水体能量, 同时发现较大的紊动动能与气泡的生成有关, 且气泡数随平均紊动动能的增加呈线性增长关系。     

Void fraction measurements and scale effects in breaking waves in freshwater and seawater

This paper follows from the work of Blenkinsopp and Chaplin (2007) and describes detailed measurements of the time-varying distribution of void fractions generated by breaking waves in freshwater, artificial seawater and natural seawater under laboratory conditions, along with flow visualisation of the entrainment process. The measurements were made with highly sensitive optical fibre phase detection probes and the results demonstrate that although an additional population of fine (d < 0.3 mm) bubbles existed in the seawater cases, the total volume and distribution of entrained air, and the spatial and temporal evolution of the bubble plumes were very similar in all three water types. The influence of water type may be relatively insignificant, but a numerical bubble tracking model shows that the effect of scale is an important consideration when modelling the post-entrainment evolution of breaker-entrained bubble plumes. Consequently the results suggest that while the use of freshwater in laboratory models of oceanic processes can be considered valid in most situations, the effect of scale may impact interpretation of the results.     

Bubbles as sources of ambient noise

It has been shown that the main mechanism which produces the Knudsen region of the ambient noise spectrum is the free oscillations of bubbles. Some experimental results which seem to confirm these facts and to refute various alternative theories involving spray impacts and turbulent forcing of bubble oscillations are described. The results show that the mechanism which excites the bubbles is their formation at the surface; once a bubble has been formed and has radiated the excess energy resulting from its formation, it is more or less silent. It is possible for extremely violent conditions to re-excite bubbles by breaking them into smaller fractions, but it is not clear how important this process would be in the ocean. How the entrainment process imparts energy to the bubble is discussed     

Acoustic measurements of the velocity field beneath shoaling and breaking waves

An acoustic current meter attached to a servo-hydraulic surface-following device was used to obtain near-surface velocity measurements beneath breaking and near breaking surface gravity waves shoaling on a 1:40 beach. The data are compared to velocities predicted by two adaptations of linear theory: superposition and stretching. For unbroken and near breaking waves, the predictions are in close agreement with the measurements. For breaking and broken waves, near surface crest velocity measurements are influenced by air entrainment; trough velocities are relatively well predicted. The problems associated with the acoustic measurement of near-surface velocities are highlighted.     

海浪破碎对海洋上混合层中湍能量收支的影响

海浪破碎产生一向下输入的湍动能通量,在近海表处形成一湍流生成明显增加的次层,加强了海洋上混合层中的湍流垂向混合。为了研究海浪破碎对混合层中湍能量收支的影响,文中分析了海浪破碎对海洋上混合层中湍流生成的影响机制,采用垂向一维湍封闭混合模式,通过改变湍动能方程的上边界条件,引入了海浪破碎产生的湍动能通量,并分别对不同风速下海浪破碎的影响进行了数值研究,分析了混合层中湍能量收支的变化。当考虑海浪破碎影响时,近海表次层中的垂直扩散项和耗散项都有显著的增加,该次层中被耗散的湍动能占整个混合层中耗散的总的湍能量的92.0%,比无海浪破碎影响的结果增加了近1倍;由于平均流场切变减小,混合层中的湍流剪切生成减小了3.5%,形成一种存在于湍动能的耗散和垂直扩散之间的局部平衡关系。在该次层以下,局部平衡关系与壁层定律的结论一致,即湍动能的剪切生成与耗散相平衡。研究结果表明,海浪破碎在海表产生的湍动能通量影响了海洋上混合层中的各项湍能量收支间的局部平衡关系。     

Hydroacoustic experiments to establish a method for the determination of methane bubble fluxes at cold seeps

Hydroacoustic methods are particularly suitable for investigations of the occurrence, cyclicity and amount of bubbles released at cold seeps without disturbing them. Experiments with a horizontally looking single beam transducer (40 and 300 kHz) directed towards artificially produced bubbles show that the backscattering strength of the bubbles increases with the gas flux rate independently of the bubble radii distribution. It is demonstrated that an acoustic system can be calibrated in such a way that gas flux rates of bubble-size spectra, as observed at natural seeps, can be directly related to the echo level of a known, acoustically insonified volume. No system-specific parameters have to be known except the beam width.     

High-speed bubble sizing using the double frequency technique foroceanographic applications

A high-speed bubble sizing technique that should have the capability of accurately determining bubble populations in breaking waves has been developed. The system was able to acquire an average bubble spectrum from 2.5 to 6 kHz in 0.1 s. Through the use of a double frequency technique, there would be very little or no contribution from nonresonant bubbles at each frequency of interest. The results of the system were compared to the data obtained by listening to ambient bubble noise with a transducer and from photographic population counts     

Bubble Size Distribution for Waves Propagating over A Submerged Breakwater

Experiments are carried out to study the characteristics of active bubbles entrained by breaking waves as these propagate over an abruptly topographical change or a submerged breakwater. Underwater sounds generated by the entrained air bubbles are detected by a hydrophone connected to a charge amplifier and a data acquisition system. The size distribution of the bubbles is then determined inversely from the received sound frequencies. The sound signals are converted from time domain to time-frequency domain by applying Gabor transform. The number of bubbles with different sizes are counted from the signal peaks in the time-frequency domain. The characteristics of the bubbles are in terms of bubble size spectra, which account for the variation in bubble probability density related to the bubble radius r. The experimental data demonstrate that the bubble probability density function shows a - 2.39 power-law sealing with radius for r 〉 0. 8 mm, and a- 1.11 power law for r 〈0.8 mm.     

Bble Size Distribution for Waves Propagating over A Submerged Breakwater

Experiments are carried out to study the characteristics of active bubbles entrained by breaking waves as these propagate over an abruptly topographical change or a submerged breakwater. Underwater sounds generated by the entrained air bubbles are detected by a hydrophone connected to a charge amplifier and a data acquisition system. The size distribution of the bubbles is then determined inversely from the received sound frequencies. The sound signals are converted from time domain to time-frequency domain by applying Gabor transform. The number of bubbles with different sizes are counted from the signal peaks in the time-frequency domain. The characteristics of the bubbles are in terms of bubble size spectra, which account for the variation in bubble probability density related to the bubble radius r. The experimental data demonstrate that the bubble probability density function shows a-2.39 power-law scaling with radius for r＞0.8 mm, and a-1.11 power law for r＜0.8 mm.     

表面波浪对海洋上层混合的作用

A new three-dimensional numerical model is derived through a wave average on the primitive N-S equations, in which both the＂Coriolis-Stokes forcing＂ and the＂Stokes-Vortex force＂ are considered. Three ideal experiments are run using the new model applied to the Princeton ocean model （POM）. Numerical results show that surface waves play an important role on the mixing of the upper ocean. The mixed layer is enhanced when wave effect is considered in conjunction with small Langmuir numbers. Both surface wave breaking and Stokes production can strengthen the turbulent mixing near the surface. However, the influence of wave breaking is limited to a thin layer, but Stokes drift can affect the whole mixed layer. Furthermore, the vertical mixing coefficients clearly rise in the mixed layer, and the upper ocean mixed layer is deepened especially in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current when the model is applied to global simulations. It indicates that the surface gravity waves are indispensable in enhancing the mixing in the upper ocean, and should be accounted for in ocean general circulation models.     

Observation of high-frequency sound propagation in shallow waterwith bubbles due to storm and surf

An experiment was performed off the shore of Panama City, FL, to measure the spatial and temporal coherence of high-frequency signals that were transmitted between fixed towers. Transmission was along paths at mid depths in about 10 m of water. During the time of the experiment, there were two stormy days with breaking waves and nearby high surf. It was observed that pulse-to-pulse variations (over seconds) in travel times, over a range of frequencies, increased dramatically from those observed on quiet days. Average travel times also increased by about 3%. Dispersion was also observed. The distance between the source and the receiver towers was approximately 60 m. By assuming that bubbles were either generated by breaking waves and advected down ward and/or generated by surf and advected outward, these results are explained. Estimates of the average bubble density and bubble-density variations are made     

Underwater noise emissions from bubble clouds

By means of an effective equation model for the propagation of pressure waves in a bubbly liquid, the normal modes of oscillation of regions of bubbly liquid in an otherwise pure liquid are calculated for some simple geometries. It is shown that the frequencies of oscillation of such bubble clouds can be much lower than those of the constituent bubbles in isolation and fall well within the range where substantial wind-dependent noise is observed in the ocean. A comparison with some experimental data strongly supports the theoretical results     

冷泉系统甲烷气体渗漏的声学特征及潜在环境效应

The amount of methane leaked from deep sea cold seeps is enormous and potentially affects the global warming,ocean acidification and global carbon cycle. It is of great significance to study the methane bubble movement and dissolution process in the water column and its output to the atmosphere. Methane bubbles produce strong acoustic impedance in water bodies, and bubble strings released from deep sea cold seeps are called "gas flares"which expressed as flame-like strong backscatter in the water column. We characterized the morphology and movement of methane bubbles released into the water using multibeam water column data at two cold seeps. The result shows that methane at site I reached 920 m water depth without passing through the top of the gas hydrate stability zone(GHSZ, 850 m), while methane bubbles at site II passed through the top of the GHSZ(597 m) and entered the non-GHSZ(above 550 m). By applying two methods on the multibeam data, the bubble rising velocity in the water column at sites I and II were estimated to be 9.6 cm/s and 24 cm/s, respectively. Bubble velocity is positively associated with water depth which is inferred to be resulted from decrease of bubble size during methane ascending in the water. Combined with numerical simulation, we concluded that formation of gas hydrate shells plays an important role in helping methane bubbles entering the upper water bodies, while other factors, including water depth, bubble velocity, initial kinetic energy and bubble size, also influence the bubble residence time in the water and the possibility of methane entering the atmosphere. We estimate that methane gas flux at these two sites is 0.4×10~6–87.6×10~6 mol/a which is extremely small compared to the total amount of methane in the ocean body, however, methane leakage might exert significant impact on the ocean acidification considering the widespread distributed cold seeps. In addition, although methane entering the atmosphere is not observed, further research is still needed to understand its potential impact on increasing methane concentration in the surface seawater and gas-water interface methane exchange rate, which consequently increase the greenhouse effect.     

Laboratory study of wave and turbulence velocities in a broad-banded irregular wave surf zone

The characteristics of wave and turbulence velocities created by a broad-banded irregular wave train breaking on a 1:35 slope were studied in a laboratory wave flume. Water particle velocities were measured simultaneously with wave elevations at three cross-shore locations inside the surf zone. The measured data were separated into low-frequency and high-frequency time series using a Fourier filter. The measured velocities were further separated into organized wave-induced velocities and turbulent velocity fluctuations by ensemble averaging. The broad-banded irregular waves created a wide surf zone that was dominated by spilling type breakers. A wave-by-wave analysis was carried out to obtain the probability distributions of individual wave heights, wave periods, peak wave velocities, and wave-averaged turbulent kinetic energies and Reynolds stresses. The results showed that there was a consistent increase in the kurtosis of the vertical velocity distribution from the surface to the bottom. The abnormally large downward velocities were produced by plunging breakers that occurred from time to time. It was found that the mean of the highest one-third wave-averaged turbulent kinetic energy values in the irregular waves was about the same as the time-averaged turbulent kinetic energy in a regular wave with similar deep-water wave height to wavelength ratio. It was also found that the correlation coefficient of the Reynolds stress varied strongly with turbulence intensity. Good correlation between u′ and w′ was obtained when the turbulence intensity was high; the correlation coefficient was about 0.3–0.5. The Reynolds stress correlation coefficient decreased over a wave cycle, and with distance from the water surface. Under the irregular breaking waves, turbulent kinetic energy was transported downward and landward by turbulent velocity fluctuations and wave velocities, and upward and seaward by the undertow. The undertow in the irregular waves was similar in vertical structure but lower in magnitude than in regular waves, and the horizontal velocity profiles under the low-frequency waves were approximately uniform.