U.S.-U.K. Cooperative Research: Turbulence and Mixing at Density Interfaces

这一年的奖励将支持美国-英国亚利桑那州州立大学的Harindra Fernando和Julian C. R.剑桥大学的亨特。他们的研究目标是调查密度界面内和附近的湍流。 剑桥大学和英国气象局的研究人员进行的理论和数值工作将得到亚利桑那州立大学实验室实验的补充。 自然界中湍流结构是丰富的，湍流混合在海洋和大气的热量和质量平衡中起着主导作用。 拟议的研究将研究湍流受到（1）来自不相等强度的相邻湍流层的差分湍流强迫和（2）速度剪切时的湍流。 研究结果将促进对环境密度界面湍流混合的理解，并提高海洋和大气环流模型中次网格尺度过程参数化的能力。

This one year award will support U.S.-U.K. cooperative research in fluid mechanics between Harindra Fernando of Arizona State University and Julian C. R. Hunt of the University of Cambridge. The objective of their research is an investigation of turbulence within and near density interfaces. The theoretical and numerical work conducted by researchers at the University of Cambridge and the British Meteorological Office will be complemented by laboratory experiments at Arizona State University. Turbulent flow configurations are replete in nature, and turbulent mixing plays a dominant role in heat and mass balances in oceans and the atmosphere. The proposed research will study turbulence when it is subjected to (1) differential turbulent forcing from contiguous turbulent layers of unequal intensities and (2) velocity shear. The results of the research will advance understanding of turbulent mixing across environmental density interfaces and enhance capabilities for parameterization of sub-grid scale processes in oceanic and atmospheric General Circulation Models.