Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Effect of crossflow on trapping depths of particle plumes: laboratory experiments and application to the PLUMEX field experiment

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Environmental Fluid Mechanics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The fate and transport of sediment plumes in the ocean, such as those resulting from the disposal of deep-sea mining residuals, are affected by ambient crossflow. We present laboratory measurements of the depth at which a particle plume is trapped by ambient stratification for various crossflow and particle settling velocities. Results suggest that the trap depth declines exponentially with crossflow velocity but is relatively insensitive to settling velocity in the range studied. An empirical correlation based on the laboratory data is validated by a larger scale field experiment involving simulated disposal of deep-sea mining wastes.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Akar PJ, Jirka GH (1994) Buoyant spreading processes in pollutant transport and mixing part 1: lateral spreading with ambient current advection. J Hydraul Res 32(6):815–831. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221689409498692

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Akar PJ, Jirka GH (1995) Buoyant spreading processes in pollutant transport and mixing, part 2: upstream spreading in weak ambient current. J Hydraul Res 33(1):87–100. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221689509498686

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Asaeda T, Imberger J (1993) Structure of bubble plumes in linearly stratified environments. J Fluid Meeh 249:36–57. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022112093001065

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Chan GKY, Chow AC, Adams EE (2014) Effects of droplet size on intrusion of sub-surface oil spills. Environ Fluid Mech 15(5):959–973. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10652-014-9389-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Chow AC (2004) Effects of buoyancy source composition on multiphase plume behavior in stratification. MIT. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/16627

  6. Dietrich WE (1982) Settling velocity of natural particles. Water Resour Res 18(6):1615–1626.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Dissanayake AL, Gros J, Socolofsky SA (2018) Integral models for bubble, droplet, and multiphase plume dynamics in stratification and crossflow. Environ Fluid Mech 18(5):1167–1202. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10652-018-9591-y

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Fischer H, List J, Koh C, Imberger J, Brooks N (1979) Mixing in Inland and coastal waters. Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/C2009-0-22051-4

  9. Hill DF (2002) General density gradients in general domains: the “two-tank” method revisited. Exp Fluids. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00348-001-0376-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Johansen Ø, Rye H, Cooper C (2003) DeepSpill-Field study of a simulated oil and gas blowout in deep water. Spill Sci Technol Bull 8(5–6):433–443.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Lemckert CJ, Imberger J (1993) Energetic bubble plumes in arbitrary stratification. J Hydraulic Eng 119(6):680–703

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Lemckert CJ, Imberger J (1993) Axisymmetric intrusive gravity currents in linearly stratified fluids. J Hydraulic Eng 119(6):662–679. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9429

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. McDougall TJ (1978) Bubble plumes in stratified environments. J Fluid Mech 86(4):655–672

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Mingotti N, Woods AW (2019) Multiphase plumes in a stratified ambient. J Fluid Mech 869:292–312. https://doi.org/10.1017/jfm.2019.198

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Morton BR, Taylor G, Turner JS (1956) Turbulent gravitational convection from maintained and instantaneous sources. Proc R Soc A Math Phys Eng Sci 234(1196):1–23. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspa.1956.0011

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Munoz-Royo C, Peacock T, Alford MH, Smith J, Boyer A, Le, Kulkarni CS, Se-Jong J (2020) Assessing the scale of deep-sea nodule mining midwater discharge sediment plumes. In: Communications earth and environment

  17. Socolofsky SA, Adams EE (2002) Multi-phase plumes in uniform and stratified crossflow. J Hydraul Res 40(6):661–672. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221680209499913

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Socolofsky SA, Adams EE (2005) Role of slip velocity in the behavior of stratified multiphase plumes. J Hydraulic Eng 131(4):273–282. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9429

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Wang D, Adams EE (2016) Intrusion dynamics of particle plume in stratified water with weak crossflow: application to deep ocean blowouts. J Geophys Res Oceans 121:1–16. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JC011324

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Wright SJ (1984) Buoyant jets in density-stratified crossflow. J Hydraul Eng 110(5):643–656. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9429(1984)110:5(643)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

Funding for this project was supported by the Center for Environmental Sensing and Modeling (CENSAM) laboratory in Singapore as part the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Science and Technology (SMART) Program, and by the BP/Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, through the GISR consortium. The authors would like to thank Spencer Kawamoto, Mike Goldin, Jonathan Ladner, Sara Goheen and San Nguyen from the Scripps Multiscale Ocean Dynamics team, Captain Desjardins and the crew aboard the R/V Sally Ride, Global Sea Mineral resources (GSR) for supplying the CCFZ sediment and facilitating the cruise, the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Dayang Wang

    Present address: Exponent, 1 Mill and Main Place, Suite 150, Maynard, MA, 01754, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA

    E. Eric Adams

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA

    Carlos Munoz-Royo & Thomas Peacock

  3. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego , La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA

    Matthew H. Alford

Authors
  1. Dayang Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. E. Eric Adams
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Carlos Munoz-Royo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Thomas Peacock
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Matthew H. Alford
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dayang Wang.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary Information

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Wang, D., Adams, E.E., Munoz-Royo, C. et al. Effect of crossflow on trapping depths of particle plumes: laboratory experiments and application to the PLUMEX field experiment. Environ Fluid Mech 21, 741–757 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10652-021-09795-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10652-021-09795-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation