The generation and decay of vorticity

Abstract

Vorticity, although not the primary variable of fluid dynamics, is an important derived variable playing both mathematical and physical roles in the solution and understanding of problems. The following treatment discusses the generation of vorticity at rigid boundaries and its subsequent decay. It is intended to provide a consistent and very broadly applicable framework within which a wide range of questions can be answered explicitly. The rate of generation of vorticity is shown to be the relative tangential acceleration of fluid and boundary without taking viscosity into account and the generating mechanism therefore involves the tangential pressure gradient within the fluid and the external acceleration of the boundary only. The mechanism is inviscid in nature and independent of the no-slip condition at the boundary, although viscous diffusion acts immediately after generation to spread vorticity outward from boundaries. Vorticity diffuses neither out of boundaries nor into them, and the only means of decay is by cross-diffusive annihilation within the fluid.     

Inversion of multiple thermal indicators: Quantitative methods of determining paleoheat flux and geological parameters. II. Theoretical development for chemical, physical, and geological parameters

Using the logic for quantitative inversion of present-day downhole thermal indicators, the inversion procedure can be used to determine unknown, or poorly known, chemical and physical parameters as well as other geological quantities of interest which impact on burial history and thermal history of an evolving sedimentary basin. Some such quantities are: amount of erosion and timing of unconformities, paleo-overpressuring, stratigraphic age, timing of igneous intrusion and insertion temperature, overthrust timing and frictional heating, fault and slump timing, effects due to emplacement of a radiocative layer, and salt emplacement and dissolution timing. Combining a priori unknown values of these chemical/physical and geological parameters with unknown (a priori) paleoheat flux variations, a theoretical scheme, called thermal indicator tomography, is developed for the systematic determination of all parameters at the same time and on the same footing. Case histories will be discussed in subsequent papers in this series.     

Temperature and heat flux spectra in the turbulent buoyancy subrange

The physical nature of motions with scales intermediate between approximately isotropic turbulence and quasi-linear internal gravity waves is not understood at the present time. Such motions play an important role in the energetics of small scales processes, both in the ocean and in the atmosphere, and in vertical transport of heat and constituents. This scale range is currently interpreted either as a saturated gravity waves field or as a buoyancy range of turbulence.We first discuss some distinctive predictions of the classical (Lumley, Phillips) buoyancy range theory, recently improved (Weinstock, Dalaudier and Sidi) to describe potential energy associated with temperature fluctuations. This theory predicts the existence of a spectral gap in the temperature spectra and of an upward mass flux (downward buoyancy and heat fluxes), strongly increasing towards large scales. These predictions are contrasted with an alternate theory, assuming energetically insignificant buoyancy flux, proposed by Holloway.Then we present experimental evidences of such characteristic features obtained in the lower stratosphere with an instrumented balloon. Spectra of temperature, vertical velocity, and cospectra of both, obtained in homogeneous, weakly turbulent regions, are compared with theoretical predictions. These results are strongly consistent with the improved classical buoyancy range theory and support the existence of a significant downward heat flux in the buoyancy range.The theoretical implications of the understanding of this scale range are discussed. Many experimental evidences consistently show the need for an anisotropic theory of the buoyancy range of turbulence.     

Influence of the surface microlayer on the flux of nonconservative trace gases (CO,H2, CH4, N2O) across the ocean-atmosphere interface

Gas exchange experiments were conducted in the tropical Atlantic Ocean during a ship expedition with FS Meteor using a small rubber raft. The temporal change of the mixing ratios of CO, H₂, CH₄ and N₂O in the headspace of a floating glass box and the concentrations of these gases in the water phase were measured to determine their transfer velocities across the ocean-atmosphere interface. The ocean acted as a sink for these gases when the water was undersaturated with respect to the mixing ratio in the headspace. The transfer velocities were different for the individual gases and showed still large differences even when normalized for diffusivity. Applying the laminar film model, film thicknesses of 20 to 70 m were calculated for the observed flux rates of the different gas species. When the water was supersaturated with respect to atmospheric CO, H₂, CH₄ and N₂O, the transfer velocities of the emission process were smaller than those determined for the deposition process. In case of H₂ and CH₄, emission was even not calculable although, based on the observed gradient, the laminar film model predicted significant fluxes at the air-sea interface. The results are interpreted by destruction processes active within the surface microlayer.     

国外海气耦合模式及其季、年际预报的研究现状

通过对国外各类海气耦合模式及其预报试验的综合分析，从海气耦合模式的分类、模式气候漂移和ENSO年际变化的处理、模式分辨率、耦合方式和模式参数的变化对模式年际变化的影响、ENSO年际预报与预报起始时间和资料的关系、ENSO和季风的海陆气耦合系统等方面评述了影响季和年际数值预报水平的有关问题及发展现状，并对开展我国相应试验研究工作提出了看法。     

人工植被和流动沙丘近地面层湍流通量的计算

提出了由Ｂｕｓｉｎｇｅｒ建议的无量纲廓线通用函数形式的近地面层稳定度参数ζ的相似方程分析解。代替了以往采用数值迭代法求ζ，并应用于沙漠人工植被和裸露流动沙丘上的实例资料分析。采用目前广泛应用的空气动力学方法，分别计算了动量和热量交换系数，感热和潜热通量，并由波文比－能量平衡方法进行了验证。结果表明：采用Ｂｕｓｉｎｇｅｒ无量纲通量廓线关系形式的近地面层稳定度参数ζ的相似方程分析解，代替以往惯用的数值     

1983 年梅雨期前后亚洲季风区水汽输送的分析

分析了1983年江淮流域入梅前、梅雨期以及出梅后垂直积分的水汽输送和水汽通量散度分布,计算了南海和中国东部地区的水汽收支。结果指出:江淮流域入梅前,华南地区降水的水汽主要来自印度西南季风和东南季风气流;梅雨期降水的水汽主要来自印度西南季风气流;出梅后华北雨季则主要受中低纬水汽输送气流汇合的影响。分析表明,江淮流域梅雨期是印度西南季风气流加强并东进北上,西太平洋高压东撤所造成的;而梅雨结束则是由于西南季风气流减弱西退和西太平洋高压西进北上所造成的;此外,还讨论了水汽输送、水汽通量辐合与云量及我国东部降水的关系。     

Air-sea interaction over the tropical Indian Ocean during several contrasting monsoon seasons

Monthly mean anomaly fields of various parameters like sea surface temperature, air temperature, wind stress, effective radiation at the surface, heat gain over the ocean and the total heat loss between a good and bad monsoon composite and the evaporation rates over the Arabian Sea and southern hemisphere have been studied over the tropical Indian Ocean. The mean rates of evaporation on a seasonal scale over the Arabian Sea during a good and bad monsoon composites were equal (about 2·48 × 10¹⁰ tons/day). The evaporation rates over the southern hemisphere were greater during all the months. The mean evaporation rates over the southern hemisphere on a seasonal scale for the good and bad monsoon composites were 4·4 × 10¹⁰ and 4·6 × 10¹⁰ tons/day respectively. The maximum evaporation rates over the southern hemisphere were observed in August. The anomalies of wind stress, effective radiation at the surface and the heat gain over the ocean also exhibit large variations in August, as compared to other monsoon months.     

Surface sensible heat flux over a deep moist convective region and its interplay with synoptic and mesoscale features

The surface parameters are being evaluated using a methodology which considers the vertical temperature structure of MONTBLEX ’90. For this 30 metre micrometeorological tower data are utilised. In this process, a concept of isolated layers has been introduced. The parameters have been evaluated following two successive iterative processes to give a consistent value both in the flux-profile relation and the related similarity relation. The heat flux obtained using the present methodology, is then utilised to examine its interplay with the synoptic as well as mesoscale features. The existence of such an interplay is observed.