Abstract
Convection induced by double (differential) diffusion in a rotating medium can generally lead to the transfer of vorticity and, in particular, to its concentration. In geophysical applications, this situation is not usually considered because the spatial and temporal scales of such convection and of rotation effects differ significantly: the period of planetary rotation is many orders of magnitude greater than the characteristic lifetime of the corresponding convective structures in seawater. Attention is given to the fact that there can be some processes in the atmosphere in which a noticeable vorticity transfer caused by a difference in the effective exchange coefficients for various substances seems to be more real. The effects of a double-diffusion-type in the air are in principle possible because of a difference in the rates of transfer of heat, water vapor, and/or heavy admixture. The simplest linear model of convection driven by double diffusion in a rotating medium is considered here. The possibility of a contribution of such effects to the concentration of vorticity during tornado formation is discussed.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
J. Turner, Buoyancy Effects in Fluids (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1973; Mir, Moscow, 1977).
G. Walin, “Note on the stability of water stratified by both salt and heat,” Tellus 16 (3), 389–393 (1964).
T. Radko, Double-Diffusive Convection (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2013).
L. Kh. Ingel’ and M. V. Kalashnik, “Nontrivial features in the hydrodynamics of seawater and other stratified solutions,” Phys.-Usp. 55 (4), 356–381 (2012).
J. Pearlstein, “Effect of rotation on the stability of a doubly diffusive fluid layer,” J. Fluid Mech. 103, 389–412 (1981).
O. S. Kerr, “The effect of rotation on double-diffusive convection in a laterally heated vertical slot,” J. Fluid Mech. 301, 345–370 (1995).
L. Kh. Ingel’, “Convective–radiative instability of moist air,” Izv., Atmos. Ocean. Phys. 39 (5), 648–650 (2003).
L. Kh. Ingel’, “Double-diffusive density flows,” Izv., Atmos. Ocean. Phys. 46 (1), 41–44 (2010).
V. V. Kushin, Tornado (Energoatomizdat, Moscow, 1993) [in Russian].
L. G. Pisarevskaya and V. A. Volkov, “Tornado-like structure over an iceberg int he Barents Sea,” Probl. Arkt. Antarkt., No. 77, 56–67 (2007).
FUNDING
This work was supported by the Fundamental Research Program (no. 56) of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Translated by N. Tret’yakova
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ingel, L.K. Vortex Motion Driven by Differential Diffusion. Izv. Atmos. Ocean. Phys. 55, 257–260 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0001433819020075
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0001433819020075