The large-scale vertical density stratification, represented by buoyancy frequency N, is generally very stable in the upper half of the ocean, and relatively weak in the lower half. However, closer inspection of density profiles demonstrates steps rather than a smooth increase with depth. As is demonstrated here using Richardson number, geostrophic balance and slantwise convective mixing arguments, these layers have a limited set of minimum, weak stratification, N-values Nmin indicating the transition between stably stratified and convective ‘homogeneous’ layers. Adopting the viewpoint that the transition occurs for neutral stability in the direction of Earth's rotation Ω instead of gravity g, three discrete states are hypothesized for mid-latitudes: (i) Nmin = 2fh under linear stability conditions, (ii) Nmin = fh(|ϕ| < 45°) and (iii) Nmin = 4fh, both under nonlinear stability, where horizontal component fh = 2Ω cos ϕ at latitude ϕ. The Nmin are not in terms of inertial frequency f = 2Ω sin ϕ, because the effect of fh is the tilting of vortex tubes away from the local vertical in the direction of Ω. The above explains very well deep-ocean North-Atlantic and Mediterranean observations on transitions in conductivity-temperature with depth profiles, inertial polarization and near-inertial shear. The latter peaks at sub-inertial 0.97f, which is associated with the lower inertio-gravity wave limit for Nmin = 4fh, thereby stressing the importance of fh for the dominant physics associated with mixing in the ocean.

Gravitationally and viscously unstable miscible displacements in vertical Hele-Shaw cells are investigated via three-dimensional Navier–Stokes simulations. The velocity of the two-dimensional base-flow displacement fronts generally increases with the unfavourable viscosity contrast and the destabilizing density difference. Displacement fronts moving faster than the maximum velocity of the Poiseuille flow far downstream exhibit a single stagnation point in a moving reference frame, consistent with earlier observations for corresponding capillary tube flows. Gravitationally stable fronts, on the other hand, can move more slowly than the Poiseuille flow, resulting in more complex streamline patterns and the formation of a spike at the tip of the front, in line with earlier findings. A two-dimensional pinch-off governed by dispersion is observed some distance behind the displacement front. Three-dimensional simulations of viscously and gravitationally unstable vertical displacements show a strong vorticity quadrupole along the length of the finger, similar to recent observations for neutrally buoyant flows. This quadrupole results in an inner splitting instability of vertically propagating fingers. Even though the quadrupole’s strength increases for larger destabilizing density differences, the inner splitting is delayed due to the presence of a secondary, outer quadrupole which counteracts the inner one. For large unstable density differences, the formation of a secondary, downward-propagating front is observed, which is also characterized by inner and outer vorticity quadrupoles. This front develops an anchor-like shape as a result of the flow induced by these quadrupoles. Increased spanwise wavelengths of the initial perturbation are seen to result in the formation of the well-known tip-splitting instability. For suitable initial conditions, the inner and tip-splitting instabilities can be seen to develop side by side, affecting different regions of the flow field.

The issue of the parameterization of small-scale (‘subgrid’) turbulence is addressed in the context of passive scalar transport. We focus on the Kraichnan advection model which lends itself to the analytical investigation of the closure problem. We derive systematically the dynamical equations which rule the evolution of the coarse-grained scalar field. At the lowest-order approximation in $l/r$, $l$ being the characteristic scale of the filter defining the coarse-grained scalar field and $r$ the inertial-range separation, we recover the classical eddy-diffusivity parameterization of small scales. At the next-leading order a dynamical closure is obtained. This outperforms the classical model and is therefore a natural candidate for subgrid modelling of scalar transport in generic turbulent flows.

In this paper we present a set of wave flume experiments for a solitary wave reflecting off a vertical wall. A particle tracking velocimetry (PTV) technique is used to measure free-surface velocity and the velocity field in the vicinity of the moving contact line. We observe that the free surface undergoes the so-called rolling motion as the contact line moves up and down the vertical wall, and fluid particles on the free surface almost always flow toward the wall except at the end of the reflection process. As the contact line descends along the wall, wall boundary layer flows move in a downward direction and therefore the boundary layer acts like a conduit through which the surface-rolling-induced flow escapes from the meniscus. However, during the last phase of the reflection process flow reversal occurs inside the wall boundary layer. An approximate analytical solution is developed to explain the flow reversal feature. Very good agreement between the approximate theory and measured data is obtained. Because of the flow reversal, boundary layer flows collide with the surface-rolling-induced flows. The collision gives rise to a jet ejecting from the meniscus into the water body, which later evolves into a small eddy. It is noticed that the fluid particles in different regions such as the free stream, the free-surface boundary layer and the wall boundary layer, can be transported to other regions by passing through the meniscus.

It is shown by linear inviscid theory that the most highly amplified instability mode in an incompressible plane parallel flow is a two-dimensional one for either temporally or spatially growing waves.

The chaotic advection of passive tracers in a two-dimensional confined convection flow is addressed numerically near the onset of the oscillatory regime. We investigate here a differentially heated cavity with aspect ratio 2 and Prandtl number 0.71 for Rayleigh numbers around the first Hopf bifurcation. A scattering approach reveals different zones depending on whether the statistics of return times exhibit exponential or algebraic decay. Melnikov functions are computed and predict the appearance of the main mixing regions via the break-up of the homoclinic and heteroclinic orbits. The non-hyperbolic regions are characterised by a larger number of Kolmogorov–Arnold–Moser (KAM) tori. Based on the numerical extraction of many unstable periodic orbits (UPOs) and their stable/unstable manifolds, we suggest a coarse-graining procedure to estimate numerically the spatial fraction of chaos inside the cavity as a function of the Rayleigh number. Mixing is almost complete before the first transition to quasi-periodicity takes place. The algebraic mixing rate is estimated for tracers released from a localised source near the hot wall.

The behaviour of an axisymmetric inviscid gravity current, which is released from a lock near the outer wall of a circular container and then propagates towards the centre over a horizontal boundary, is considered. Shallow-water and box-model theoretical analyses and experimental results are presented and compared. The resulting motion predicted by the shallow-water model displays interesting differences with the previously reported outward propagation of an axisymmetric current, as well as with propagation in a two-dimensional rectangular geometry. The current initially develops the usual decelerating motion with a nose-up tail-down shape, but when the nose reaches about half of the outer radius the confining geometry opposes the further decrease of the height and velocity of the nose. The box-model approximation, which omits the inclination of the interface, is unable to reproduce the hindering (and eventual reversal) effect of the geometrical confinement on the decrease of the nose velocity during the inward propagation.

A theroetical analysis is given for potential flow over, around and under a vehicle of general shape moving close to a plane ground surface. Solutions are given both in the form of a small-gap asymptotic expansion and a direct numerical computation, with close agreement between the two for two-dimensional flows with and without circulation. Some results for three-dimensional bodies are discussed.

Laser Doppler Velocimetry (LDV) measurements are presented for a nominally two-dimensional constant-density flow over a surface-mounted triangular cylinder. The thickness of the boundary layer approaching the triangular cylinder is much less than the height of the triangle. Momentum and turbulent kinetic energy balances are presented and comparisons are made with other separated and reattaching flows. Also, time domain information is presented in the form of autocorrelations and spectra. From the energy balances, the importance of the pressure transport term at the high-speed edge of the shear layer is seen. Observations of the relationships between the shapes of the spectra and the details of the energy balance are made. For example, the slope of the velocity spectra varies from the free-stream value of −5/3 to a value of −1 in the middle of the recirculation region. Concurrent with this increase in slope is a decrease in the role of shear production in the turbulent kinetic energy balance and an increase in the role of advection and turbulent transport. From the two-component LDV measurements, a very low-frequency unsteadiness is shown to contribute energy preferentially to different components of the velocity fluctuations depending on the location in the flow.

Model experiments have been done on two-dimensional inflated buildings in thick boundary layers that simulate either an onshore wind, or flow over sparsely wooded country. A theory has been developed which replaces the boundary layer by an inviscid flow of uniform vorticity. The replacement flow matches both the velocity and the velocity gradient of the wind at the maximum height of the building. The tension in the membrane is quite well predicted by the theory, but the external pressure is in general too low owing to the presence of separation bubbles at the leading and trailing edges.

The flow in a rotating annular cylinder, of finite depth, is examined when the Rossby number Ro is O(E½), where E is the Ekman number, and when there is a topography of height O(E½) on the base of the container. The flow, relative to the rigid axial rotation, is forced by differential rotation of the lid and as it moves over the topography the streamlines are deflected parallel to the bottom surface. This induces O(1) velocity variations near the axial walls of the annulus to which the boundary layers there, of thickness O(E¼), respond. For sufficiently large values of a parameter γ ∝Ro/E½ the skin friction can vanish within these layers, with some similaritits to boundary-layer separation in a non-rotating fluid. In this study the interior flow, with horizontal viscous diffusion neglected, is calculated and used to provide a boundary condition for the, E¼ layer flow. Once λ exceeds a finite critical value a singularity is encountered in the boundary layer corresponding to flow separation from the wall. This demonstrates that E¼ layers in a rotating fluid, which for Ro = 0 have little direct influence on the interior flow, can modify the gross properties of the flow for non-zero Rossby numbers, a conclusion also reached by Walker & Stewartson (1972) in a different context.

The interaction between a wave packet of small-amplitude short internal waves, and a finite-amplitude inertial wave field is described to second order in the short-wave amplitude. The discussion is based on the principle of wave action conservation and the equations for the wave-induced Lagrangian mean flow. It is demonstrated that as the short internal waves propagate through the inertial wave field they generate a wave-induced train of trailing inertial waves. The contribution of this wave-induced mean flow to the total energy balance is described. The results obtained here complement the finding of Broutman & Young (1986) that the short internal waves undergo a net change in energy after their encounter with the inertial wave field.

Weakly nonlinear descriptions of axisymmetric cnoidal and solitary waves in vortices recently have been shown to have strongly nonlinear counterparts. The linear stability of these strongly nonlinear waves to three-dimensional perturbations is studied, motivated by the problem of vortex breakdown in open flows. The basic axisymmetric flow varies both radially and axially, and the linear stability problem is therefore nonseparable. To regularize the generalization of a critical layer, viscosity is introduced in the perturbation problem. In the absence of the waves, the vortex flows are linearly stable. As the amplitude of a wave constituting the basic flow increases owing to variation in the level of swirl, stability is first lost to non-axisymmetric ‘bending’ modes. This instability occurs when the wave amplitude exceeds a critical value, provided that the Reynolds number is larger enough. The critical wave amplitudes for instability typically are large, but not large enough to create regions of closed streamlines. Examination of the most-amplified eigenvectors shows that the perturbations tend to be concentrated downstream of the maximum streamline displacement in the wave, in a position consistent with the observed three-dimensional perturbations in the interior of a bubble type of vortex breakdown.