Equilibrium heat and salt transport through a diffusive, thermohaline interface
An experimental investigation of the thermohaline, diffusive interface between convecting layers, with heat fluxes more similar to natural fluxes than in previous studies, shows that the formula suggested by Huppert (1971) for the dependence of heat flux on interface stability cannot be extrapolated...
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| Other Authors: | , , , |
| Format: | Master Thesis |
| Language: | English unknown |
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Oregon State University
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| Online Access: | https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/dr26z187v |
| Summary: | An experimental investigation of the thermohaline, diffusive interface between convecting layers, with heat fluxes more similar to natural fluxes than in previous studies, shows that the formula suggested by Huppert (1971) for the dependence of heat flux on interface stability cannot be extrapolated to stability numbers higher than seven and a new formula is proposed. The non-dimensional ratio of salt to heat flux is observed to increase from the value 0.15, found by Turner (1965), as the heat flux is lowered through almost three orders of magnitude. Migration of the interface is found even in experiments with anti-symmetric temperature boundary conditions; Huppert's (1971) analysis of the stability of a pair of diffusive interfaces was based on the assumption of stationary interfaces. For oceanic values of the heat flux, the thickness of the interface was in the range observed for the layered system of microstructure in the Arctic Ocean. |
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