Developing horizontal convection against stable temperature stratification in a rectangular container

Abstract

Developing stages of horizontal convection observed during transitions from conduction to thermally equilibrated convection states are studied with visualization experiments imposing horizontally differential heating at the top of low-temperature water. Due to the absence of destabilizing thermal sources, convective rolls, which are localized on the horizontal plane on which differential heating is imposed, are formed only by the baroclinic torque driving force against a braking force due to stable temperature stratification. We find a nondimensional parameter for the balance of the braking force relaxing with time and the baroclinic torque driving force.