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Main Authors: Magnier, Maelys, Rodda, Costanza, Savaro, Clément, Augier, Pierre, Machicoane, Nathanael, Valran, Thomas, Viboud, Samuel, Mordant, Nicolas
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.05102
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author Magnier, Maelys
Rodda, Costanza
Savaro, Clément
Augier, Pierre
Machicoane, Nathanael
Valran, Thomas
Viboud, Samuel
Mordant, Nicolas
author_facet Magnier, Maelys
Rodda, Costanza
Savaro, Clément
Augier, Pierre
Machicoane, Nathanael
Valran, Thomas
Viboud, Samuel
Mordant, Nicolas
contents Lagrangian measurements of tracer particle dispersion in stratified turbulence are presented from a large-scale experiment achieving both high buoyancy Reynolds numbers and low Froude numbers -- a regime characteristic of oceanic conditions. Stratification has a pronounced effect on the vertical particle dispersion, which is observed to be constrained to distances on the order of $w_{\mathrm{std}}/N$, where $w_{\mathrm{std}}$ is the standard deviation of the vertical velocity and $N$ is the Brunt-Väisälä frequency. As expected in strongly nonlinear, stratified turbulence, the frequency spectrum of the Lagrangian velocity becomes isotropic at frequencies higher than $N$. The spectral decay follows a $1/f^3$ scaling, which contrasts with the $1/f^2$ behavior typical of homogeneous isotropic turbulence. At time scales corresponding to internal waves, the statistics of velocity increments remain Gaussian, consistent with the weakly nonlinear regime of wave turbulence. At smaller scales, however, the flow exhibits strongly non-Gaussian statistics, indicative of fully nonlinear turbulent dynamics driven by wave breaking.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_05102
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Lagrangian dispersion in experimental stratified turbulence
Magnier, Maelys
Rodda, Costanza
Savaro, Clément
Augier, Pierre
Machicoane, Nathanael
Valran, Thomas
Viboud, Samuel
Mordant, Nicolas
Fluid Dynamics
Lagrangian measurements of tracer particle dispersion in stratified turbulence are presented from a large-scale experiment achieving both high buoyancy Reynolds numbers and low Froude numbers -- a regime characteristic of oceanic conditions. Stratification has a pronounced effect on the vertical particle dispersion, which is observed to be constrained to distances on the order of $w_{\mathrm{std}}/N$, where $w_{\mathrm{std}}$ is the standard deviation of the vertical velocity and $N$ is the Brunt-Väisälä frequency. As expected in strongly nonlinear, stratified turbulence, the frequency spectrum of the Lagrangian velocity becomes isotropic at frequencies higher than $N$. The spectral decay follows a $1/f^3$ scaling, which contrasts with the $1/f^2$ behavior typical of homogeneous isotropic turbulence. At time scales corresponding to internal waves, the statistics of velocity increments remain Gaussian, consistent with the weakly nonlinear regime of wave turbulence. At smaller scales, however, the flow exhibits strongly non-Gaussian statistics, indicative of fully nonlinear turbulent dynamics driven by wave breaking.
title Lagrangian dispersion in experimental stratified turbulence
topic Fluid Dynamics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.05102