Potential Vorticity Generation in Breaking Gravity Waves

Potential vorticity (PV) is an important quantity in stratified flows because it conserved following the flow absence of forcing and viscous diffusive effects. However, as shown by previous work for unstratified turbulence, viscosity diffusion, when present, are not purely dissipative can create potential even none present initially. In this work, we use direct numerical simulations to investigate generation enstrophy (integrated square PV) turbulence. Simulations initialized with a two-dimensional standing internal gravity wave, which has no apart from some low-level random noise; result, all comes Significant found wave breaks, maximum increases increasing Reynolds number. The mechanism initial PV spanwise diffusion buoyancy perturbations, grow three-dimensionalizes, into direction vorticity. terms responsible small-scale sensitive under-resolution, so high resolution required obtain robust results.