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Shear Instabilities and Stratified Turbulence in an Estuarine Fluid Mud

Shear Instabilities and Stratified Turbulence in an Estuarine Fluid Mud AbstractThis study presents field observations of fluid mud and the flow instabilities that result from the interaction between mud-induced density stratification and current shear. Data collected by shipborne and bottom-mounted instruments in a hyperturbid estuarine tidal channel reveal the details of turbulent sheared layers in the fluid mud that persist throughout the tidal cycle. Shear instabilities form during periods of intense shear and strong mud-induced stratification, particularly with gradient Richardson number smaller than or fluctuating around the critical value of 0.25. Turbulent mixing plays a significant role in the vertical entrainment of fine sediment over the tidal cycle. The vertical extent of the billows identified seen in the acoustic images is the basis for two useful parameterizations. First, the aspect ratio (billow height/wavelength) is indicative of the initial Richardson number that characterizes the shear flow from which the billows grew. Second, we describe a scaling for the turbulent dissipation rate ε that holds for both observed and simulated Kelvin–Helmholtz billows. Estimates for the present observations imply, however, that billows growing on a lutocline obey an altered scaling whose origin remains to be explained. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Physical Oceanography American Meteorological Society

Shear Instabilities and Stratified Turbulence in an Estuarine Fluid Mud

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References (115)

Publisher
American Meteorological Society
Copyright
Copyright © American Meteorological Society
ISSN
1520-0485
eISSN
1520-0485
DOI
10.1175/jpo-d-21-0230.1
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

AbstractThis study presents field observations of fluid mud and the flow instabilities that result from the interaction between mud-induced density stratification and current shear. Data collected by shipborne and bottom-mounted instruments in a hyperturbid estuarine tidal channel reveal the details of turbulent sheared layers in the fluid mud that persist throughout the tidal cycle. Shear instabilities form during periods of intense shear and strong mud-induced stratification, particularly with gradient Richardson number smaller than or fluctuating around the critical value of 0.25. Turbulent mixing plays a significant role in the vertical entrainment of fine sediment over the tidal cycle. The vertical extent of the billows identified seen in the acoustic images is the basis for two useful parameterizations. First, the aspect ratio (billow height/wavelength) is indicative of the initial Richardson number that characterizes the shear flow from which the billows grew. Second, we describe a scaling for the turbulent dissipation rate ε that holds for both observed and simulated Kelvin–Helmholtz billows. Estimates for the present observations imply, however, that billows growing on a lutocline obey an altered scaling whose origin remains to be explained.

Journal

Journal of Physical OceanographyAmerican Meteorological Society

Published: Sep 16, 2022

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