Marine propellers are studied in design and off-design modes of operation like crashback, where the propeller rotates in reverse while the vehicle is in forward motion. Past experiments (Jessup et al., Proceedings of the 25th Symposium on Naval Hydrodynamics, St John's, Canada, 2004; Proceedings of the 26th Symposium on Naval Hydrodynamics, Rome, Italy, 2006) studied the marine propeller David Taylor Model Basin 4381 in the open-jet test section of the 36-inch variable pressure water tunnel (VPWT). In crashback, a significant discrepancy with unclear sources exists between the mean propeller loads from the VPWT and open-water towing tank (OW) experiments (Ebert et al., 2007 ONR Propulsor S & T Program Review, October, 2007). We perform large-eddy simulation at $Re=561\,000$ and advance ratios $J=-0.50$ and $-0.82$ with the VPWT geometry included, contrasting to the unconfined (OW) case at those same $J$ and $Re=480\,000$. We identify and delineate the water tunnel interference effects responsible, and demonstrate that these effects resemble those of a symmetric solid model or bluff body. Solid blockage due to jet expansion and nozzle blockage due to proximity to the tunnel nozzle are identified as the primary interference effects. Their impact varies with the advance ratio $J$ and strengthens for higher magnitudes of $J$. The effective length scale to assess the severity of interference effects is found to be larger than the vortex ring diameter.

The sloping boundaries of stratified aquatic systems, such as lakes, are crucial environmental dynamic zones. While the role of sloping boundaries as energy dissipation hotspots is well established, their contribution to triggering large-scale motions has received less attention. This review delves into the development of thermally driven cross-shore flows on sloping boundaries under weak wind conditions. We specifically examine ‘thermal siphons’ (TS), a dynamical process that occurs when local free convection transforms into a horizontal circulation over sloping boundaries. Thermal siphons result from bathymetrically induced temperature (i.e. density) gradients when a lake experiences a uniform surface buoyancy flux, also known as differential cooling or heating. In the most common case of differential cooling of waters above the temperature of maximum density, TS lead to an overturning circulation characterised by a downslope density current and a surface return flow within a convective environment. Field observations, laboratory experiments and high-fidelity simulations of TS provide insights into their temporal occurrence, formation mechanisms, water transport dynamics and cross-shore pathways, addressing pivotal questions from an aquatic system perspective. Fluid mechanics is a fundamental tool in addressing such environmental questions and thereby serves as the central theme in this review.