Abstract

Mixing by plumes in boxes

Megan Davies Wykes
University of Cambridge

In this talk I'll describe the mixing induced by plumes in boxes, using the simple example of the filling box and the emptying-filling box to demonstrate the differences in the maximum mixing efficiency in an open and closed system. I will also present the results of numerical simulations, that allow us to examine the spatial variation of background potential energy production and viscous dissipation in a confined plume, an example that lets us see how the definition of background potential energy emphasises the energetic importance of mixing that occurs close to the mean density.