Aspects of gravity-driven flows

重力或密度驱动的电流在自然界和人类活动中无处不在。它们可以被看作是粉雪雪崩、火山碎屑流、海洋浊流、湖泊和海洋石油泄漏、双相湖中的热棒、海风锋和致密气体释放的驱动机制。它们与浊积岩的形成有关，浊积岩是地球大部分海洋的深海平原上发现的储油层，因此了解它们在浊积岩形成过程中的作用有助于确定这一宝贵自然资源的位置。浮力推动溢油的扩散，这些力可以通过吸收太阳辐射而增加。因此，研究表面重力流（如浮油）的热增强对预测扩散率和遏制这些潜在灾害至关重要。我们的研究将集中在重力驱动流的许多方面，以了解其启动，控制其扩散率的因素，以及它们传输物质的能力。我们的方法将使用分析，数值和实验方法相结合。

Gravity or density-driven currents are ubiquitous in nature and human activities. They can be seen as the driving mechanism for powder snow avalanches, pyroclastic flows from volcanoes, turbidity currents in the oceans, oil spills on lakes and oceans, thermal bars in dimictic lakes, sea breeze fronts, and dense gas releases. They are implicated in the formation of the turbidites that act as oil reservoirs to be found on the abyssal plains of most of the earth's oceans and so an understanding of their role in the initiation of turbidite formation can provide an aid to the location of this valuable natural resource. Buoyancy forces drive the spread of oil spills and these forces can be increased through the absorption of solar radiation. The study of thermal enhancement of surface gravity flows such as oil slicks is thus crucial to the prediction of spread rates and so containment of these potential disasters.Our research will be focused on the many aspects of gravity driven flows with a view to understanding their initiation,the factors that control their spread rates, and their ability to transport material. Our approach will use a combination of analytical, numerical, and experimental methods.