CONVECTION INTO DOMAINS WITH OPEN BOUNDARIES

Convection into regions with open, or partially-open, lateral boundaries is considered. The products of convectively-driven mixing can flow out from under the source generating a compensating inflow as they do so. The effects of rotation, ambient stratification and the geometry of the region on these flow quantities are considered, since all affect the density and velocity distributions that result. Three typical geometries are considered: convection into a channel or sea with an exit constriction; convection from a patch or strip into stratified and/or rotating surroundings and, finally, into a rotating coastal environment. In each case the simplest possible models are considered in the hope that they can offer some insight into the dynamical processes that affect the overall behaviour of each system. These are supplemented by reference to numerical and laboratory experiments as well as field observations. Finally suggestions for future work in the former two cases are presented in the hope that they will stimulate the reader's interest.