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NATURALIST'S APPLICATION OF A PROMISING TURBULENCE MODEL
Citation:
Frick, W E., H. Phelps, A C. Sigleo, AND M C. Barber. NATURALIST'S APPLICATION OF A PROMISING TURBULENCE MODEL. Presented at 80th Western Society of Naturalists Annual Meeting, Monterey, CA, December 26-30, 1999.
Description:
Turbulence has infinite applications to the biological sciences, affecting distributions, transport, feeding, mating, and other biological processes. The topic is like the universe for which five successive magnefications are required to finally focus on a topic that can be grasped by the individual researcher, such as the effect of turbulence on benthic organisms. Even at this level a myriad of questions arise: All clam syphons are fimbriated, with little projections all around, sometimes rather brightly colored. Surely that must dissipate the flow and decrease the turbulence. How much? The entrance syphons are always shorter and broader than the exit. How can they disturb the benthic water boundary layer sufficiently to guarantee fresh water (and access to food)? Why are the entrance siphons of filter-feeding clams so much different in construction than those of clams who use them to primarily suck up food off the neighboring bottom (thinner and more muscular). Yet, extant turbulence models tend to be advanced concepts relegated to esoteric physical and mathematical disciplines, involving boundary layers, the Navier-Stokes non-linear equations, and mathematical decompositions, accessible primarily to programmers of supercomputers. An innovative theory brings an understanding of the important properties and consequences of turbulence to the naturalist. The theory helps to explain many phenomena important to their disciplines. For example, it makes apparent the formation of turbulent boundary layers around organisms and helps predict the concomitant forces in qualitative terms. It helps to explain the dissipation of topologically generated energetic jets, and the effect on mixing and distribution of suspended materials. And, it offers an explanation for the separation of suspended materials in turbulent flows.