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what causes langmuir circulation

by Diego Powlowski Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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Langmuir circulation. These circulations are developed when wind blows steadily over the sea surface. Irving Langmuir discovered this phenomenon after observing windrows of seaweed in the Sargasso Sea in 1927. Langmuir circulations circulate within the mixed layer; however, it is not yet so clear how strongly they can cause mixing at the base of the mixed layer.

The generation mechanism of Langmuir circulations is an instability caused by interaction between the Stokes drift transport of surface waves and the wind-induced current, but Langmuir circulations may also be viewed as a distinct form of turbulence, named Langmuir turbulence.

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What is Langmuir circulation and how does it work?

Feb 12, 2020 · What causes Langmuir circulation? The streaks are caused by Langmuir circulation and are concentrations of scum, bubbles and other debris floating on the surface of the water. These Langmuir cells arise because of wind-generated shearing forces at the surface.

What is Langmuir turbulence?

Jan 30, 2022 · The generation mechanism of Langmuir circulations is an instability caused by interaction between the Stokes drift transport of surface waves and the wind-induced current, but Langmuir circulations may also be viewed as a …

What is the relationship between Stokes drift and Langmuir circulation?

The generation mechanism of Langmuir circulations is an instability caused by interaction between the Stokes drift transport of surface waves and the wind-induced current, but Langmuir circulations may also be viewed as a distinct form of turbulence, named Langmuir turbulence. These two perspectives are outlined here. View chapter Purchase book

How do Langmuir cells grow?

Langmuir Circulation Anyone who has spent time near water has probably seen parallel lines of bubble or other floating debris on a windy day. These are caused by a pattern of water movement call Langmuir Circulation - named after the scientist who described the phenomenon back in the 1930s. Video Overview

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How is Langmuir circulation formed?

In physical oceanography, Langmuir circulation consists of a series of shallow, slow, counter-rotating vortices at the ocean's surface aligned with the wind. These circulations are developed when wind blows steadily over the sea surface.

What causes lines in the ocean?

These lines are artifacts of the ocean floor mapping process. Oceanographers use sonar—sound waves—to map the ocean bottom. These sonar readings are typically taken by ships towing submersible devices that send out sound waves.Feb 26, 2021

What causes wind rows?

Windrows are caused by tubes of rotating water, typically about eight to 10 metres across and hundreds of metres long. Some may stretch for several kilometres. These tubes counter-rotate, so if one tube is going clockwise its neighbours will move anticlockwise.Sep 28, 2016

Where does the greatest amount of heat transfer by surface currents occur?

Where does the greatest amount of heat transfer by surface currents occur? The greatest amount of heat transfer occurs at mid-latitudes, where about 10 million billion calories of heat are transferred each second.

Where is the lost city of Atlantis on Google Earth?

A video posted on YouTube claims that Google Earth has discovered proof that Atlantis existed. The footage shows a strange structure at the bottom of the ocean floor that does not appear to be natural. The formation lies at a depth of over 4500 meters under the ocean off the coast of Africa.Apr 9, 2018

Is the ocean ever flat?

The sea level varies around the globe. Most people are surprised to learn that, just as the surface of the Earth is not flat, the surface of the ocean is not flat, and that the surface of the sea changes at different rates around the globe.Jan 4, 2021

What is windrowing hay?

A windrow is a row of cut (mown) hay or small grain crop. It is allowed to dry before being baled, combined, or rolled. For hay, the windrow is often formed by a hay rake, which rakes hay that has been cut by a mowing machine or by scythe into a row, or it may naturally form as the hay is mown.

Where did the term windrow come from?

windrow (n.) 1520s, from wind (n. 1) + row (n.). Because it is exposed to the wind for drying.

What is a windrow in construction?

Slash filter windrows are structures made out of waste logs and compacted slash. They protect forest streams from sediment originating on road surfaces and fill slopes, stabilize road fills and help prevent stream sedimentation during road construction.

Why is California cold now?

The water along the coast of California is cold for a couple of reasons. First, the California Current brings cold water from Alaska southward along the coast. And second, cold water from the deep ocean comes up to the surface through a process called upwelling.Aug 8, 2011

Where is the strongest current in the ocean?

The Antarctic Circumpolar Current is the planet's most powerful and arguably most important current. It is the only current to flow clear around the globe without being diverted by any landmass.May 15, 2019

What is the ocean current that goes around the world?

This is the start of what scientists call the “global conveyor belt,” a system of connected deep and surface currents that moves water around the globe. These currents circulate around the globe in a thousand-year cycle.Jul 1, 2019

What are the two things required for Langmuir circulation to occur?

Even with this complexity, there are some commonalities. In order for Langmuir circulation to occur two things are required. First, there must be surface wind shear - which is just another way to say the speed of the wind-driven surface current diminishes with depth.

How do waves contribute to Langmuir circulation?

Waves contribute to the formation of Langmuir circulation via stokes drift. When most people study surface wave * s they first learn about the idealized condition where water particles move in perfectly circular paths. Under idealized conditions, there is no net motion of water particles due to wave motion.

How do counterrotating vortices occur?

The counterrotating vortices can occur in sets which results in the multiple, parallel windrows which are always oriented within a few degrees of the wind direction. Downwelling of water at each line of convergence drives the rotation of the vortices.

What is the movement called when you see bubbles in water?

Langmuir Circulation. Anyone who has spent time near water has probably seen parallel lines of bubble or other floating debris on a windy day. These are caused by a pattern of water 
. movement call Langmuir Circulation - named after the scientist who described the phenomenon back in the 1930s. Video Overview.

Where did Langmuir first observe the streaks?

Langmuir first noticed the streaks during a trip across the Atlantic. About 600 miles off the coast of New York, he observed long rows of seaweed all oriented in the same direction as the wind. Later, he managed to elucidate the basics of the circulation pattern with a series of experiments on Lake George in New York.

Did Langmuir have a clear idea of how the wind caused the vortices?

Langmuir himself determined this was a wind-driven phenomenon, but he did not develop a clear idea of how the wind caused the vortices. In the years after Langmuir’s work, a number of different mechanisms were proposed.

What is Langmuir circulation?

In physical oceanography, Langmuir circulation consists of a series of shallow, slow, counter-rotating vortices at the ocean's surface aligned with the wind. These circulations are developed when wind blows steadily over the sea surface.

When did Langmuir see natans?

In 1927, Langmuir saw the organized rows of Sargassum natans while crossing the Sargasso Sea in the Atlantic Ocean. Unlike active swimmers like animals and zooplankton, plants and phytoplankton are usually passive bodies in water and their aggregation are determined by the flow behavior.

Do animals react to LC?

While plants have passive reaction to LC, animals can react to both the LC, presence of plant/food aggregation and light. One of such observation was the adaptation of Physalia to windrows containing entangling Sargassum. Physalia tend to drift across the windrows which also increased food or zooplankter availability in divergent zones.

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1.Langmuir Circulation - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics

Url:https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/langmuir-circulation

34 hours ago Feb 12, 2020 · What causes Langmuir circulation? The streaks are caused by Langmuir circulation and are concentrations of scum, bubbles and other debris floating on the surface of the water. These Langmuir cells arise because of wind-generated shearing forces at the surface.

2.Langmuir Circulation - Science Primer

Url:https://scienceprimer.com/langmuir-circulation

18 hours ago Jan 30, 2022 · The generation mechanism of Langmuir circulations is an instability caused by interaction between the Stokes drift transport of surface waves and the wind-induced current, but Langmuir circulations may also be viewed as a …

3.Langmuir Circulation - EPOD - a service of USRA

Url:https://epod.usra.edu/blog/2016/11/langmuir-circulation.html

13 hours ago The generation mechanism of Langmuir circulations is an instability caused by interaction between the Stokes drift transport of surface waves and the wind-induced current, but Langmuir circulations may also be viewed as a distinct form of turbulence, named Langmuir turbulence. These two perspectives are outlined here. View chapter Purchase book

4.9.7 Langmuir Circulation – Introduction to Oceanography

Url:https://rwu.pressbooks.pub/webboceanography/chapter/9-7-langmuir-circulation/

14 hours ago Langmuir Circulation Anyone who has spent time near water has probably seen parallel lines of bubble or other floating debris on a windy day. These are caused by a pattern of water movement call Langmuir Circulation - named after the scientist who described the phenomenon back in the 1930s. Video Overview

5.Langmuir circulation - Wikipedia

Url:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langmuir_circulation

21 hours ago Nov 16, 2016 · These Langmuir cells arise because of wind-generated shearing forces at the surface. Imagine two adjacent tubes of water just below the surface and in the direction of the wind. The one on your right circulates in a counter-clockwise fashion, and the other does so clockwise, creating an upwelling/downwelling effect, causing the scum to converge …

6.Lines On Water: Langmuir Circulation- often a nature …

Url:http://www.loyno.edu/lucec/natural-history-writings/lines-water-langmuir-circulation-often-nature-lovers-destination-0

16 hours ago 9.7 Langmuir Circulation One final type of wind-driven surface current occurs on a smaller scale when the winds blow in a consistent direction at relatively high speeds. Underneath these strong winds, water flows in a series of parallel corkscrew patterns called Langmuir cells (Figure 9.7.1 top). Each of the cells may be several meters wide and several meters deep, and adjacent cells …

7.ON THE MECHANISM OF LANGMUIR CIRCULATIONS AND …

Url:https://aslopubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.4319/lo.1969.14.4.0493

13 hours ago In physical oceanography, Langmuir circulation consists of a series of shallow, ... 1927. Langmuir circulations circulate within the mixed layer; however, it is not yet so clear how strongly they can cause mixing at the base of the mixed layer. Theory. The driving force of these circulations is an interaction of the mean flow with wave averaged ...

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