Editorial Type:
Article
Article Type:
Research Article

Rates of Dissipation of Turbulent Kinetic Energy in a High Reynolds Number Tidal Channel

Justine M. McMillan Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

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Alex E. Hay Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

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Rolf G. Lueck Rockland Scientific Inc., Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

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Fabian Wolk Rockland Scientific Inc., Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

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Print Publication:
01 Apr 2016
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/JTECH-D-15-0167.1
Page(s):
817–837
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Abstract

The ability to estimate the rate of dissipation (ε) of turbulent kinetic energy at middepth in a high-speed tidal channel using broadband acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs) is assessed by making comparisons to direct measurements of ε obtained using shear probes mounted on a streamlined underwater buoy. The investigation was carried out in Grand Passage, Nova Scotia, Canada, where the depth-averaged flow speed reached 2 m s−1 and the Reynolds number was 8 × 107. The speed bin–averaged dissipation rates estimated from the ADCP data agree with the shear probe data to within a factor of 2. Both the ADCP and the shear probe measurements indicate a linear dependence of ε on the cube of the flow speed during flood and much lower dissipation rates during ebb. The ebb–flood asymmetry and the small-scale intermittency in ε are also apparent in the lognormal distributions of the shear probe data. Possible sources of bias and error in the ε estimates are investigated, and the most likely causes of the discrepancy between the ADCP and shear probe estimates are the cross-channel separation of the instruments and the high degree of spatial variability that exists in the channel.

Corresponding author address: Justine McMillan, Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University, P.O. Box 15000, Halifax NS B3H 4R2, Canada. E-mail: justine.mcmillan@dal.ca

Abstract

The ability to estimate the rate of dissipation (ε) of turbulent kinetic energy at middepth in a high-speed tidal channel using broadband acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs) is assessed by making comparisons to direct measurements of ε obtained using shear probes mounted on a streamlined underwater buoy. The investigation was carried out in Grand Passage, Nova Scotia, Canada, where the depth-averaged flow speed reached 2 m s−1 and the Reynolds number was 8 × 107. The speed bin–averaged dissipation rates estimated from the ADCP data agree with the shear probe data to within a factor of 2. Both the ADCP and the shear probe measurements indicate a linear dependence of ε on the cube of the flow speed during flood and much lower dissipation rates during ebb. The ebb–flood asymmetry and the small-scale intermittency in ε are also apparent in the lognormal distributions of the shear probe data. Possible sources of bias and error in the ε estimates are investigated, and the most likely causes of the discrepancy between the ADCP and shear probe estimates are the cross-channel separation of the instruments and the high degree of spatial variability that exists in the channel.

Corresponding author address: Justine McMillan, Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University, P.O. Box 15000, Halifax NS B3H 4R2, Canada. E-mail: justine.mcmillan@dal.ca
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