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An axisymmetric hot-air jet discharging into cold ambient air is investigated experimentally. We consider the transitional regime, that is, Reynolds numbers at which the jet is initially laminar. In the first part of the paper it is demonstrated by several different experiments that, for sufficiently low Reynolds number and a ratio of jet exit to ambient density below approximately 0.7, global oscillations of the ‘jet column’ become self-excited, a behaviour which is related to local absolute instability in the potential core region. The onset of the global oscillations is identified as a Hopf bifurcation and two axisymmetric global modes are observed below the critical density ratio. Finally, it is shown that in the (self-excited) limit-cycle regime the spreading of the hot jet is intermittently quite spectacular, with half-angles in excess of 45°. Using flow visualization, this large spreading of low-density jets is related to the generation of strong ‘side jets’ emanating from the jet column.

Measurements of 81Kr/Kr in deep groundwater from the Nubian Aquifer (Egypt) were performed by a new laser‐based atom‐counting method. 81Kr ages range from ∼2 × 105 to ∼1 × 106 yr, correlate with 36Cl/Cl ratios, and are consistent with lateral flow of groundwater from a recharge area near the Uweinat Uplift in SW Egypt. Low δ2H values of the 81Kr‐dated groundwater reveal a recurrent Atlantic moisture source during Pleistocene pluvial periods. These results indicate that the 81Kr method for dating old groundwater is robust and such measurements can now be applied to a wide range of hydrologic problems.

[1] Trace gas exchange of NO 2 and O 3 at the soil surface of the primary rain forest in Reserva Biológica Jarú (Rondônia, Brazil) was investigated by chamber and gradient methods. The ground resistance to NO 2 and O 3 deposition to soil was quantified for dry and wet surface conditions using dynamic chambers and was found to be fairly constant at 340 ± 110 and 190 ± 70 s m À1 , respectively. For clear-sky conditions, the thermal stratification of the air in the first meter from the forest floor was stable during daytime and unstable during nighttime. The aerodynamic resistance to NO 2 and O 3 deposition to the ground in the first meter above the forest floor was determined by measurements of 220 Rn and CO 2 concentration gradients and CO 2 surface fluxes. The aerodynamic resistance of the 1-m layer above the ground was 1700 s m À1 during daytime and 600 s m À1 during nighttime. The deposition flux of O 3 and NO 2 was quantified for clear-sky conditions from the measured concentrations and the quantified resistances. For both trace gases, deposition to the soil was generally observed. The O 3 deposition flux to the soil was only significantly different from zero during daytime. The maximum of À1.2 nmol m À2 s À1 was observed at about 1800 and the mean daytime flux was À0.5 nmol m À2 s À1 . The mean NO 2 deposition flux during daytime was À1.6 ng N m À2 s À1 and during nighttime À2.2 ng N m À2 s À1 . The NO x budget at the soil surface yielded net emission day and night. The NO 2 deposition flux was 74% of the soil NO emission flux during nighttime and 34% during daytime. The plant uptake of NO 2 and O 3 by the leaves of Laetia corymbulosa and Pouteria glomerata, two typical plant species for the Amazon rain forest, was investigated in a greenhouse in Oldenburg (Germany) using branch cuvettes. The uptake of O 3 was found to be completely under stomatal control. The uptake of NO 2 was also controlled by the stomatal resistance but an additional mesophyll resistance of the same order of magnitude as the stomatal resistance was necessary to explain the observed uptake rate.

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