Droplets of various liquids may float on the respective surfaces for extended periods of time prior to coalescence. We explored the features of delayed coalescence in highly purified water. Droplets several millimeters in diameter were released from a nozzle onto a water surface. Results showed that droplets had float times up to hundreds of milliseconds. When the droplets did coalesce, they did so in stepwise fashion, with periods of quiescence interspersed between periods of coalescence. Up to six steps were noted before the droplet finally vanished. Droplets were released in a series, which allowed the detection of unexpected abrupt float-time changes throughout the duration of the series. Factors such as electrostatic charge, droplet size, and sideways motion had considerable effect on droplet lifetime, as did reduction of pressure, which also diminished the number of steps needed for coalescence. On the basis of present observations and recent reports, a possible mechanism for noncoalescence is considered.
Subsurface coherent vortices in the North Atlantic, whose saline water originates from the Mediterranean Sea and which are known as Mediterranean eddies (meddies), have been of particular interest to physical oceanographers since their discovery, especially for their salt and heat transport properties into the North Atlantic Ocean. Many studies in the past have been successful in observing and studying the typical properties of meddies by probing them with in situ techniques. The use of remote sensing techniques would offer a much cheaper and easier alternative for studying these phenomena, but only a few past studies have been able to study meddies by remote sensing, and a reliable method for observing them remotely remains elusive. This research presents a new way of locating and tracking meddies in the North Atlantic Ocean using satellite altimeter data. The method presented in this research makes use of ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD) as a means to isolate the surface expressions of meddies on the ocean surface and separates them from any other surface constituents, allowing robust meddies to be consistently tracked by satellite. One such meddy is successfully tracked over a 6-month time period (2 November 2005 to 17 May 2006). Results of the satellite tracking method are verified using expendable bathythermographs (XBT).
We study the surface signatures of Mediterranean water eddies (Meddies) in the context of a regional, primitive equations model simulation (using the Regional Oceanic Modeling System, ROMS). This model simulation was previously performed to study the mean characteristics and pathways of Meddies during their evolution in the Atlantic Ocean. The advantage of our approach is to take into account different physical mechanisms acting on the evolution of Meddies and their surface signature, having full information on the 3D distribution of all physical variables of interest. The evolution of around 90 longlived Meddies (whose lifetimes exceeded one year) was investigated. In particular, their surface signature was determined in sea-surface height, temperature and salinity. The Meddy-induced anomalies were studied as a function of the Meddy structure and of the oceanic background. We show that the Meddies can generate positive anomalies in the elevation of the oceanic free-surface and that these anomalies are principally related to the Meddies potential vorticity structure at depth (around 1000 m below the sea-surface). On the contrary, the Meddies thermohaline surface signatures proved to be mostly dominated by local surface conditions and little correlated to the Meddy structure at depth. This work essentially points out that satellite altimetry is the most suitable approach to track subsurface vortices from observations of the sea-surface. Highlights ► The surface signature of Meddies is studied in a high-resolution simulation. ► The aim is to evaluate a synergy between SSH/SST/SSS measurements for their tracking. ► SSH measurements are elected as the best strategy for tracking Meddies from space.
Unexpectedly distinct patterns in evaporation were observed over heated water. Although the patterns had chaotic aspects, they often showed geometric patterns. These patterns bore strong resemblance to the infrared emission patterns observable with a mid-infrared camera focused on the water surface. This similarity puts constraints on the mechanism of evaporation, and leads to a general hypothesis as to the nature of the evaporative process.
Previous studies focusing on the remote detection of Mediterranean Eddies (Meddies) have reported that the isopycnal surface changes derived from satellite multisensor measurements at the approximate depth of 400 m can be used to sense the presence of underlying Meddies. While the isopycnal surface near that depth does indeed reveal the locations of Meddies, an analysis of isopycnal surface changes in response to the evolution of Meddies has yet to be made. Accordingly, this research focuses on analyzing the relationship between isopycnal surface changes and the evolution of Meddies. The vertical isopycnal surface variability of Meddies, which is directly related to contributions from rotational velocity, interior thermal variation, and vertical displacement of Meddies, is observed and studied using float observations from A Mediterranean Undercurrent Seeding Experiment (AMUSE). The contributions of each of the three aforementioned parameters are estimated, enabling us to understand their relative role in changing the isopycnal surface above Meddies. Furthermore, in order to further understand Meddies' evolution and their associated forcing, the dominant frequencies of their horizontal and vertical displacements, as well as the sea surface height variability above the Meddy, are analyzed using the Hilbert-Huang Transform. Finally, the horizontal and the vertical eddy viscosity dissipation of Meddies is computed and compared with a theoretical model. The empirical horizontal and the vertical eddy viscosities are found to be 7 3 10 6 cm 2 s 21 and 200 cm 2 s 21 , respectively. This study will therefore contribute to understanding how the isopycnal surface is related to the presence of Meddies, what frequencies dominate its variability, and the values of eddy viscosity which can be used for a numerical model.
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