Expert Response 0 + –
What is splash?
Splashes & mdash; these are droplets that have broken off from the surface of the water and move in a current of air, & nbsp; explains Candidate in Physics and Mathematics, Head of the IAP RAS Laboratory Daniil Sergeev .
“ In this case, droplets up to several microns in size (the unit length equals one millionth of a meter. & mdash; & nbsp; approximately Ed.) & nbsp; are completely entrained in the airflow and blown away, forming a marine aerosol, and the big ones can fall back into the water & raquo;, & mdash; & nbsp; specifies the expert.
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How are splashes formed?
Scientists identify several splash mechanisms that have been discovered in field observations and laboratory experiments.
“ The first of them, the most famous, & mdash; & nbsp; is the emergence of underwater bubbles. When the waves break, air is sucked into the water, forming bubbles. Then they float, a thin film of the bubble bursts & nbsp; and forms small splashes. Another mechanism is called in the scientific literature liquid & nbsp; ligaments or & nbsp; liquid filaments & nbsp; (translated from English & bdquo; liquid filaments & ldquo;). It is then that a net several centimeters long and about a millimeter thick is torn from the surface of the water, and one or two large drops come off the thickening at its end. She sort of stretches and gushes out, & mdash; & nbsp; explains Daniil Sergeev.
The third mechanism & nbsp; & mdash; bag-breakup (translated from English “ bag breakup '') & mdash; the scientist from the Russian Academy of Sciences calls the main one, because he combined the features of the previous two.
“ We gave it a more euphonious name: a parachute-type crushing mechanism. The bottom line is this: when breaking waves at high speed, small protuberances form on the surface of the ocean, they start to blow in the wind in small & bdquo; parachute sails & ldquo; & nbsp; & mdash; & nbsp; a thin dome-shaped film, which is surrounded by a thicker rim at the edges. When a certain critical size is reached, first a thin film of the dome bursts, forming small splashes, and then the edge breaks into several large drops, & mdash; & nbsp; Sergeyev said. & Nbsp;
What factors affect splashing?
The wind plays a major role in the formation of spray. The stronger it is, the more waves break, which contributes to the appearance of splashing, Sergeyev explains.
“ It is during stormy conditions that splashing is intensely formed. However, along with the wind speed, the acceleration of the waves is also important. The more the wave interacts with the wind, the higher the likelihood of the ridge collapsing and splashing, the expert said.
Splashes and meerschaum & mdash; & nbsp; is it the same thing?
These two phenomena are united by the fact that they often form during intense surging waves in stormy conditions. But sea foam & mdash; & nbsp; are bubbles stuck together on the surface of the water, which have not had time to burst. And the splash & mdash; & nbsp; are drops that have already fallen from the surface of the water, the scientist explained. & Nbsp;
How do scientists study splash?
Due to complex field studies, Russian scientists simulate splashing processes in the laboratory. In & nbsp; IAP RAS of Nizhny & nbsp; Novgorod & nbsp; there is a thermostratified swimming pool with high wind speed and waves. This sophisticated facility can recreate the conditions of not only a light breeze, but also a devastating hurricane with wind speeds of up to 65m/s. Daniil Sergeev informed AiF.ru about the progress of the research. & Nbsp;
“ Today, one of the key tasks in building such models is & mdash; & nbsp; to understand which parameters of the boundary layer of the atmosphere and the ocean, one has to relate the characteristics of the generation of spray: to the wind speed or to the parameters of the waves? Our idea is & mdash; & nbsp; to link it to the crashing waves, the area of the sea covered in foam, the so-called 'lambs', because it is in these areas that active splash generation occurs. Now, having studied the mechanisms of spatter generation, we begin to study how these processes affect the scattering of microwave radiation. The results obtained will be of great help & nbsp; for the development of methods for operational monitoring of the state of the environment in the boundary layers of the atmosphere and the ocean, & mdash; & nbsp; Sergeev noted.