Publication Date:
2011-12-01
Description:
Laboratory experiments of dilute mixtures of warm talc powder in air simulate dilute pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) and show the effects of topography on current runout, buoyancy reversal, and liftoff into buoyant plumes. The densimetric and thermal Richardson, Froude, Stokes, and settling numbers for our experiments match those of natural PDCs. The laboratory currents are fully turbulent, although the experiments have lower Reynolds numbers than PDCs. In sum, our experiments are dynamically similar to natural currents. Comparisons of currents traversing flat topography or encountering barriers show that runout distance is not significantly reduced for currents that traverse barriers with height
Print ISSN:
0091-7613
Electronic ISSN:
1943-2682
Topics:
Geosciences
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