Breakdown of line plumes in turbulent environments

The results of a laboratory experiment that was designed to investigate the effects of background turbulence on turbulent line plumes are presented. This work was motivated by its potential application to winter polar leads, in which refieezing of open water induces buoyant plumes that descend through the upper ocean mixed layer. Scaling arguments are advanced to delineate different types of interactions that may occur between line plumes and …