Reynolds stresses in Holmboe instabilities: from linear growth to saturation

Abstract

The Reynolds stress in Holmboe instabilities at moderate Reynolds numbers is investigated using single wavelength simulations (SWS), multiple wavelength simulations (MWS), and laboratory experiments. The rightward and leftward propagating instabilities are separated with the two-dimensional discrete Fourier transform, enabling a direct comparison of the perturbation fields between the numerical simulations and linear stability analysis. The decomposition and superposition of the perturbation fields provide a new insight into the origin of Reynolds stresses. Conventionally, only the statistics of horizontal and vertical velocity perturbation pairs, ($u',w'$), are presented to show the degree of anisotropy in turbulent fields. Here, we present these ($u',w'$)-pairs using both theory-based and statistical approaches to reveal the mechanism of the anisotropy of perturbation field. For an individual Holmboe mode, both the simulations and linear theory show that ($u',w'$)-pairs tilt towards the 2nd and 4th quadrants ($u'w'<0$) within upper and lower vorticity interfaces, indicating an anisotropic perturbation field. As a result, a negative correlation between the horizontal and vertical velocity perturbation is produced, $i.e.$ negative Reynolds stresses on average. Combining the leftward and rightward Holmboe modes, ($u',w'$)-pairs are also ellipses whose orientation and aspect ratio are phase dependent. The joint probability density functions of ($u',w'$) in the linear theory and SWS show `steering wheel' structures, while in MWS and laboratory experiments the presence of waves of varying wavelength smears out the `steering wheel' structure leaving an elliptical cloud with similar orientation to the corresponding linear prediction. The vertical structure of the Reynolds stresses in the simulations and the laboratory experiment agree with the linear stability predictions.