Middle atmosphere modeling

Breaking gravity waves generate and maintain a background level of turbulence which is capable of producing substantial cooling and/or heating in the upper mesosphere and lower thermosphere. The net thermodynamic effect of breaking gravity waves is critically dependent on the eddy Prandt number (P sub t) applicable to mesospheric turbulence. When P sub t is approximately 1, the calculations of the heat budget for the mesopause region imply that the globally averaged eddy or turbulent diffusion coefficient cannot exceed .000001 sq cm/s. This upper limit on turbulant diffusion applies to both potential temperature transport and chemically inert tracer transport when radiative damping is neglible. For chemically active species larger diffusion coefficients are permitted, because the effective eddy diffusion coefficient is increased by an additive term L/2 gamma (sup 2), where L is the chemical loss rate and gamma is the vertical wavenumber. For P sub t is approximately 4 to 6, the turbulent diffusion of momentum (D sub M) is sufficiently greater than the turbulent diffusion of heat (D sub H) that the conversion of gravity wave energy to heat with high efficiency nearly balances the divergence of the downward eddy heat flux in the wave breaking zone. Therefore the heat budget of the mesopause region would no longer provide a powerful and useful constraint on D sub H. If P sub t exceeds 6 with high efficiency for energy conversion to heat, gravity waves would heat the mesosphere throughout the wave breaking region

Acceleration of energetic particles by large-scale compressible magnetohydrodynamic turbulence

Fast particles diffusing along magnetic field lines in a turbulent plasma can diffuse through and then return to the same eddy many times before the eddy is randomized in the turbulent flow. This leads to an enhancement of particle acceleration by large-scale compressible turbulence relative to previous estimates in which isotropic particle diffusion is assumed.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Particle Stirring in Turbulent Gas Disks: Including Orbital Oscillations

We describe the diffusion and random velocities of solid particles due to stochastic forcing by turbulent gas. We include the orbital dynamics of Keplerian disks, both in-plane epicycles and vertical oscillations. We obtain a new result for the diffusion of solids. The Schmidt number (ratio of gas to particle diffusivity) is Sc = 1 + (Omega t_stop)^2, in terms of the particle stopping time, t_stop, and the orbital frequency, Omega. The standard result, Sc = 1 + t_stop/t_eddy, in terms of the eddy turnover time, t_eddy, is shown to be incorrect. The main difference is that Sc rises quadratically, not linearly, with stopping time. Consequently, particles larger than ~ 10 cm in protoplanetary disks will suffer less radial diffusion and will settle closer to the midplane. Such a layer of boulders would be more prone to gravitational collapse. Our predictions of RMS speeds, vertical scale height and diffusion coefficients will help interpret numerical simulations. We confirm previous results for the vertical stirring of particles (scale heights and random velocities), and add a correction for arbitrary ratios of eddy to orbital times. The particle layer becomes thinner for t_eddy > 1/Omega, with the strength of turbulent diffusion held fixed. We use two analytic techniques -- the Hinze-Tchen formalism and the Fokker-Planck equation with velocity diffusion -- with identical results when the regimes of validity overlap. We include simple physical arguments for the scaling of our results.Comment: 17 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables, accepted to Icaru

Leaf area index and topographical effects on turburlent diffusion in a deciduous forest

In order to investigate turbulent diffusion in a deciduous forest canopy, wind velocity measurements were conducted from late autumn of 2009 to early spring of 2010, using an observation tower 20 m in height located in the campus of Kanazawa University. Four sonic anemometers mounted on the tower recorded the average wind velocities and temperatures, as well as their fluctuations, at four different heights simultaneously. Two different types of data sets were selected, in which the wind velocities, wind bearings and atmospheric stabilities were all similar, but the Leaf Area Indexes (LAI's) were different. Vertical profiles of average wind velocities were found to have an approximately exponential profile in each case. The characteristic length scales of turbulence were evaluated by both von Karman's method and the integral time scale deduced from the autocorrelation from time-series analyses. Both methods produced comparable values of eddy diffusivity for the cases with some foliage during late autumn, but some discrepancy in the upper canopy layer was observed when the trees did not have their leaves in early spring. It was also found that the eddy diffusivities generally take greater values at higher positions, where the wind speeds are large. Anisotropy of eddy diffusivities between the vertical and horizontal components was also observed, particularly in the cases when the canopy does not have leaves, when the horizontal eddy diffusivities are generally larger than the vertical ones. On the other hand, the anisotropy is less visible when the trees have some foliage during autumn. The effects of topography on the turbulent diffusion were also investigated, including evaluation of the non-zero time-averaged vertical wind velocities. The results show that the effects are marginal for both cases, and can be neglected as far as diffusion in the canopy is concerned

Probability distribution function for self-organization of shear flows

The first prediction of the probability distribution function (PDF) of self-organized shear flows is presented in a nonlinear diffusion model where shear flows are generated by a stochastic forcing while diffused by a nonlinear eddy diffusivity. A novel nonperturbative method based on a coherent structure is utilized for the prediction of the strongly intermittent exponential PDF tails of the gradient of shear flows. Numerical simulations using Gaussian forcing not only confirm these predictions but also reveal the significant contribution from the PDF tails with a large population of supercritical gradients. The validity of the nonlinear diffusion model is then examined using a threshold model where eddy diffusivity is given by discontinuous values, elucidating an important role of relative time scales of relaxation and disturbance in the determination of the PDFs

Regularization modeling for large-eddy simulation of diffusion flames

We analyze the evolution of a diffusion flame in a turbulent mixing layer using large-eddy simulation. The large-eddy simulation includes Leray regularization of the convective transport and approximate inverse filtering to represent the chemical source terms. The Leray model is compared to the more conventional dynamic mixed model. The location of the flame-center is defined by the 'stoichiometric' interface. Geometrical properties such as its surface-area and wrinkling are characterized using an accurate numerical level-set quadrature method. This allows to quantify flame-properties as well as turbulence modulation effects due to coupling between combustion and turbulent transport. We determine the active flame-region that is responsible for the main part of the chemical conversion in the flame and compare direct and large-eddy simulation predictions

Convective, Diffusive Effects on Magnetic Fields and Eddy Current in Compulsators

Compulsators are being designed at ever increasing energies and energy densities and are required to deliver energy to the load in less than 10 ms. These require high speeds of operation and dense spacing of conductors. Diffusion of magnetic fields into the conductors and the formation of nonuniform, time-dependent distribution of eddy currents become dominant design considerations due to their major mechanical, thermal, and thermodynamic impact. A semi-analytical method has been developed for the two-dimensional analysis of field diffusion and eddy currents in high speed rotary machines to aid design decisions. Analytical results for fields are utilized and computations are restricted to the conductor domains alone. The semi-analytical method has been tested with two conductors (one in the stator and one in the rotor rotating at high speed). The resulting distributions of fields and eddy currents are presented.Center for Electromechanic

Vertical eddy diffusion coefficient from the LANDSAT imagery

Analysis of five stable cases of the smoke plumes that originated in eastern Cabo Frio (22 deg 59'S; 42 deg 02'W), Brazil using LANDSAT imagery is presented for different months and years. From these images the lateral standard deviation (sigma sub y) and the lateral eddy diffusion coefficient (K sub y) are obtained from the formula based on Taylor's theory of diffusion by continuous moment. The rate of kinetic energy dissipation (e) is evaluated from the diffusion parameters sigma sub y and K sub y. Then, the vertical diffusion coefficient (K sub z) is estimated using Weinstock's formulation. These results agree well with the previous experimental values obtained over water surfaces by various workers. Values of e and K sub z show the weaker mixing processes in the marine stable boundary layer. The data sample is apparently to small to include representative active turbulent regions because such regions are so intermittent in time and in space. These results form a data base for use in the development and validation of mesoscale atmospheric diffusion models