Direct Numerical Simulation of Differential Scalar Diffusion in Three-Dimensional Stratified Turbulence

Abstract

The potential for differential turbulent transport of oceanic temperature (T) and salinity (𝒮) is explored using three-dimensional direct numerical simulations of decaying stratified turbulence. The simulations employ a realistic molecular diffusion coefficient for T, and one for a “salt” scalar S that is 10 times smaller. Initially, a uniformly stratified medium is disturbed by a turbulent burst whose initial energy is assigned a range of values. In each instance, transports of T integrated over the subsequent decay of the burst exceed those of S. The more energetic cases occupy parameter ranges similar to, and exhibit spectral characteristics that are essentially indistinguishable from, those of direct observations of turbulence in the stratified ocean interior. In these cases, the turbulent diffusivity of T exceeds that of S by 6%–22%. These simulations underestimate the degree of differential diffusion between T and salinity 𝒮 (which has a molecular diffusivity 100 times less than T); thus at the Reynolds numbers attained by the simulations these results constitute lower bounds for differential diffusion associated with sporadic turbulence in the ocean. The simulation results are consistent with previous laboratory and two-dimensional numerical experiments and suggest that the assumption of equal turbulent diffusivities for T and 𝒮, commonly used in circulation modeling and in interpreting oceanic mixing measurements, should be reconsidered.