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Plumes in rotating fluid and their transformation into tornados

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 August 2021

B.R. Sutherland Open the ORCID record for B.R. Sutherland [Opens in a new window] ,
Y. Ma ,
M.R. Flynn Open the ORCID record for M.R. Flynn [Opens in a new window] ,
D. Frank Open the ORCID record for D. Frank [Opens in a new window] ,
P.F. Linden ,
D. Lemasquerier Open the ORCID record for D. Lemasquerier [Opens in a new window] ,
M. Le Bars Open the ORCID record for M. Le Bars [Opens in a new window] ,
C. Pacary ,
T. Jamin  and
T. Dauxois Open the ORCID record for T. Dauxois [Opens in a new window]
...Show all authors
B.R. Sutherland*
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E3, Canada
Y. Ma
Affiliation:
Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E3, Canada
M.R. Flynn
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 1H9, Canada
D. Frank
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, Wilberforce Road, Cambridge CB3 0WA, UK
P.F. Linden
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, Wilberforce Road, Cambridge CB3 0WA, UK
D. Lemasquerier
Affiliation:
CNRS, Aix Marseille University, Centrale Marseille, IRPHE, Marseille 13013, France
M. Le Bars
Affiliation:
CNRS, Aix Marseille University, Centrale Marseille, IRPHE, Marseille 13013, France
C. Pacary
Affiliation:
Univ Lyon, ENS de Lyon, CNRS, Laboratoire de Physique, F-69342 Lyon, France
T. Jamin
Affiliation:
Univ Lyon, ENS de Lyon, CNRS, Laboratoire de Physique, F-69342 Lyon, France
T. Dauxois
Affiliation:
Univ Lyon, ENS de Lyon, CNRS, Laboratoire de Physique, F-69342 Lyon, France
S. Joubaud
Affiliation:
Univ Lyon, ENS de Lyon, CNRS, Laboratoire de Physique, F-69342 Lyon, France Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), Paris, France
*
†Email address for correspondence: bruce.sutherland@ualberta.ca
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Abstract

Through laboratory experiments and numerical simulations, we examine the evolution of buoyant plumes as they are influenced by background rotation in a uniform density ambient fluid. The source Rossby number is sufficiently large that rotation does not directly affect the plume at early times. However, on a time scale of the order of half a rotation period, the plume becomes deflected from the vertical axis. For some experiments and simulations, the deflection persists and the flow precesses about the vertical axis. In other cases, shortly after being deflected, the plume laminarizes near the source to form a near-vertical columnar vortex, which we refer to as a ‘tornado’. Tornado formation occurs in some experiments and not in others even if the source and background rotation parameters are identical. However, their formation is more likely if the plumes are ‘lazy’. Simulations reveal that this is a consequence of the competing dynamics that occurs on comparable time scales. As a consequence of entrainment, vertical vorticity builds up within the plume reducing the Rossby number and suppressing vertical motion at distances progressively closer to the source. Meanwhile, the swirl (the ratio of the azimuthal to vertical flow) around the vicinity of the source increases, which tends to suppress three-dimensional turbulence in the near-source flow. Although the former process ultimately acts to deflect the plume off axis, in some instances, the swirl around the source succeeds in laminarizing the flow, resulting in tornado formation.

JFM classification

Convection: Plumes/thermals Geophysical and Geological Flows: Rotating flows Turbulent Flows: Rotating turbulence
Type
JFM Papers
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 924 , 10 October 2021 , A15
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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