Exchange flow between a canopy and open water

This paper theoretically and experimentally investigates the exchange flow due to temperature differences between open water and a canopy of aquatic plants. A numerical model is used to study the interfacial shape, frontal velocity and total volumetric exchange, and their dependence on a dimensionless vegetation drag parameter. The numerical predictions are consistent with the laboratory measurements. There is a short initial period in which the force balance is between buoyancy and inertia, followed by drag-dominated flow for which there is a balance between buoyancy and drag forces. After the initial stage, the gravity current propagating into the canopy takes a triangular shape whereas the current propagating into the open water has almost the classic unobstructed horizontal profile, but with a slowly decreasing depth. Near the edge of the canopy, but in the open region, the flow is found to be critical with a unit internal Froude number. The exchange flow rate and the front speed in the canopy decrease slowly with time whereas the gravity current in the open water has a constant speed. The magnitude of the exchange flow decreases as the canopy drag increases. Empirical equations for the flow properties are presented. A movie is available with the online version of the paper.