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Turbulent pair dispersion as a continuous-time random walk

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 August 2014

Simon Thalabard ,
Giorgio Krstulovic  and
Jérémie Bec
Simon Thalabard
Affiliation:
Laboratoire Lagrange UMR 7293, Université de Nice-Sophia Antipolis, CNRS, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, Bd. de l’Observatoire, 06300 Nice, France
Giorgio Krstulovic
Affiliation:
Laboratoire Lagrange UMR 7293, Université de Nice-Sophia Antipolis, CNRS, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, Bd. de l’Observatoire, 06300 Nice, France
Jérémie Bec*
Affiliation:
Laboratoire Lagrange UMR 7293, Université de Nice-Sophia Antipolis, CNRS, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, Bd. de l’Observatoire, 06300 Nice, France
*
†Email address for correspondence: jeremie.bec@oca.eu
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Abstract

The phenomenology of turbulent relative dispersion is revisited. A heuristic scenario is proposed, in which pairs of tracers undergo a succession of independent ballistic separations during time intervals whose lengths fluctuate. This approach suggests that the logarithm of the distance between tracers self-averages and performs a continuous-time random walk. This leads to specific predictions for the probability distribution of separations, which differ from those obtained using scale-dependent eddy-diffusivity models (e.g. in the framework of Richardson’s approach). These predictions are tested against high-resolution simulations and shed new light on the explosive separation between tracers.

JFM classification

Mixing: Mixing Turbulent Flows: Turbulent Flows Mixing: Turbulent mixing
Type
Rapids
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 755 , 25 September 2014 , R4
Copyright
© 2014 Cambridge University Press 

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