title: Temperature statistics in two-dimensional stably stratified turbulence.
abstract: Using two-dimensional direct numerical simulations, the statistics of temperature differences in stably stratified turbulence are studied. Comparison with passive scalar statistics in similar flows suggests that the stably stratified case is qualitatively similar to the passive case. Probability distribution functions of temperature differences between points separated by different distances collapse using the same scalings in both passive scalar and stably stratified simulations. Some dependence on stratification strength is evident, but the qualitative similarity may be due to the dominance of the large-scale flow in determining the temperature statistics. We also explore the stratification dependence of the statistics of temperature values and gradients.
authors.affiliation: Combustion Research Facility, Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, California 94551-0969, USA. swunsc@sandia.gov
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wunsch
authors.forename: Yuan-Nan
authors.initials: YN
authors.lastname: Young