Convective mixing

About: Convective mixing is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 590 publications have been published within this topic receiving 22499 citations.

Open-ocean convection: Observations, theory, and models

Abstract: We review what is known about the convective process in the open ocean, in which the properties of large volumes of water are changed by intermittent, deep-reaching convection, triggered by winter storms. Observational, laboratory, and modeling studies reveal a fascinating and complex interplay of convective and geostrophic scales, the large-scale circulation of the ocean, and the prevailing meteorology. Two aspects make ocean convection interesting from a theoretical point of view. First, the timescales of the convective process in the ocean are sufficiently long that it may be modified by the Earth's rotation; second, the convective process is localized in space so that vertical buoyancy transfer by upright convection can give way to slantwise transfer by baroclinic instability. Moreover, the convective and geostrophic scales are not very disparate from one another. Detailed observations of the process in the Labrador, Greenland, and Mediterranean Seas are described, which were made possible by new observing technology. When interpreted in terms of underlying dynamics and theory and the context provided by laboratory and numerical experiments of rotating convection, great progress in our description and understanding of the processes at work is being made.

Numerical Investigation of Neutral and Unstable Planetary Boundary Layers

Abstract: Results of numerical integrations are presented for a neutrally stratified planetary boundary layer containing a passive scalar, and for three unstable cases with upward heat flux. The air is assumed unsaturated. A total of either 16,000 or 32,000 grid points was used in a three-dimensional region with length and width several times the height of the boundary layer. A key result is the irrelevance of the neutral height scale, u*/f, and its replacement by the height zi of the inversion base which confines the convective mixing when m and only for the two slightly unstable cases were the vertical velocity eddies distinctly elongated as in Ekman-layer theories. At large instabilities it is shown how the friction velocity u/* loses its influence upon the turbulence intensifies and a convective velocity wale becomes important. Vertical profiles of mean wind, potential tempe...

Annual flux of dissolved organic carbon from the euphotic zone in the northwestern Sargasso Sea

Abstract: THE export of biogenic carbon from the upper ocean is responsible for maintaining the vertical gradient of dissolved inorganic carbon and thus indirectly for regulating the level of atmospheric CO2 (ref. 1). Large, rapidly sinking particles are thought to dominate this export2, and this sinking flux has been thought to balance new production3. Recent measurements of particle export4—6 and estimates of new production7—9 have questioned this picture, however. Here we report measurements of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) off Bermuda, which provide strong support for the idea10—15 that this component of oceanic carbon is also an important and dynamic part of the ocean carbon cycle. We find that DOC accumulates in the early spring owing to increased primary production, and is partially consumed in the summer and autumn. The DOC that escapes remineralization is exported from the surface ocean the following winter, and we estimate this export to be equal to or greater than the measured particle flux, allowing us to close the annual vertical carbon budget for this site to within a factor of two. Our observations should be applicable to other temperate, sub-polar and continental-shelf regions of the world ocean which exhibit convective mixing and vernal restratification.

Spread in model climate sensitivity traced to atmospheric convective mixing

Abstract: Equilibrium climate sensitivity refers to the ultimate change in global mean temperature in response to a change in external forcing. Despite decades of research attempting to narrow uncertainties, equilibrium climate sensitivity estimates from climate models still span roughly 1.5 to 5 degrees Celsius for a doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration, precluding accurate projections of future climate. The spread arises largely from differences in the feedback from low clouds, for reasons not yet understood. Here we show that differences in the simulated strength of convective mixing between the lower and middle tropical troposphere explain about half of the variance in climate sensitivity estimated by 43 climate models. The apparent mechanism is that such mixing dehydrates the low-cloud layer at a rate that increases as the climate warms, and this rate of increase depends on the initial mixing strength, linking the mixing to cloud feedback. The mixing inferred from observations appears to be sufficiently strong to imply a climate sensitivity of more than 3 degrees for a doubling of carbon dioxide. This is significantly higher than the currently accepted lower bound of 1.5 degrees, thereby constraining model projections towards relatively severe future warming.

Development of a Molten-Salt Thermocline Thermal Storage System for Parabolic Trough Plants

Abstract: Thermal storage improves the dispatchability and marketability of parabolic trough power plants allowing them to produce electricity on demand independent of solar collection. One such thermal storage system, a thermocline, uses a single tank containing a fluid with a thermal gradient running vertically through the tank, where hotter fluid (lower density) is at the top of the tank and colder fluid is at the base of the tank. The thermal gradient separates the two temperature potentials. A low-cost filler material provides the bulk of the thermal capacitance of the thermal storage, prevents convective mixing, and reduces the amount of fluid required. In this paper, development of a thermocline system that uses molten-nitrate salt as the heat transfer fluid is described and compared to a two-tank molten salt system. Results of isothermal and thermal cycling tests on candidate materials and salt safety tests are presented as well as results from a small pilot-scale (2.3 MWh) thermocline.