15 research outputs found

    The mean circulation of the southwestern Mediterranean Sea: Algerian Gyres

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    This is a study about the general circulation of the southwestern Mediterranean Sea based on observations of currents carried out in the southwestern Mediterranean Sea in the framework of the Mass Transfer and Ecosystem Response (MATER) program (EEC/MAST3 program). From July 1997 to August 2002, profiling floats (MEDPROF experiment), isobaric floats (LIWEX experiment), and moored current meters (ELISA experiment) give evidence of two large-scale barotropic cyclonic circulations, the here-called Western and Eastern Algerian Gyres, centered around [3730′N, 230′E] and [3830′N, 600′E], respectively. These gyres have typical horizontal scales of 100–300 km and are characterized by orbital velocities of about 5 cm/s corresponding to rotational periods of about 4 months. They are strongly related to the bottom topography of the basin and to the planetary vorticity gradient: closed f/H isocontours (f is the planetary vorticity, H the water depth) correspond to the locations of the gyres and favor such circulations as free geostrophic modes. A linear and barotropic model is used to investigate the possibility of wind driving, but the results suggest that the wind stress is not responsible for establishing such circulations. The boundary currents flowing along the continental slope of Africa, Sardinia, and the Balearic Islands are proposed to be the main drivers of these gyres

    A multi-component two-phase flow algorithm for use in landfill processes modelling

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    This paper describes the finite difference algorithm that has been developed for the flow sub-model of the University of Southampton landfill degradation and transport model LDAT. The liquid and gas phase flow components are first decoupled from the solid phase of the full multi-phase, multi-component landfill process constitutive equations and are then rearranged into a format that can be applied as a calculation procedure within the framework of a three dimensional array of finite difference rectangular elements.The algorithm contains a source term which accommodates the non-flow landfill processes of degradation, gas solubility, and leachate chemical equilibrium, sub-models that have been described in (White and Beaven 2013).The paper includes an illustration of the application of the flow sub-model in the context of the leachate recirculation tests carried out at the Beddington landfill project. This illustration demonstrates the ability of the sub-model to track movement in the gas phase as well as the liquid phase, and to simulate multi-directional flow patterns that are different in each of the phases.<br/
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