Chapter 5. SPATIALLY-COHERENT STRUCTURES
form larger mushroom-like structures. The latter descend faster and
eventually form bigger structures. This cascade process produces a hierarchy
of convective scales, which is illustrated in Figure 5-59 for the example of
haline convection. As a result, the energy cascades to larger scales. This is
consistent with the fact that the free convection represents a type of twodimensional hydrodynamic system and thus has a tendency to selforganization.
389
Figure 5-60. (a) The Earth-referenced vertical flow velocity Earth
w
at 250 m depth measured
during an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) mission in the Labrador Sea. The vertical
dashed lines show the AUV 90
o turning points. The profiles of potential temperature, salinity,
and potential density during this AUV mission are shown on panel b, c, and d, respectively. The
depth of the AUV mission is shown by horizontal dashed line. (After Zhang et al., 2001.) ©
2001 IEEE.
form larger mushroom-like structures. The latter descend faster and
eventually form bigger structures. This cascade process produces a hierarchy
of convective scales, which is illustrated in Figure 5-59 for the example of
haline convection. As a result, the energy cascades to larger scales. This is
consistent with the fact that the free convection represents a type of twodimensional hydrodynamic system and thus has a tendency to selforganization.
389
Figure 5-60. (a) The Earth-referenced vertical flow velocity Earth
w
at 250 m depth measured
during an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) mission in the Labrador Sea. The vertical
dashed lines show the AUV 90
o turning points. The profiles of potential temperature, salinity,
and potential density during this AUV mission are shown on panel b, c, and d, respectively. The
depth of the AUV mission is shown by horizontal dashed line. (After Zhang et al., 2001.) ©
2001 IEEE.