
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

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.
