1. Introduction
A comparatively recent development in the eld of convection is the study of convection
in double-di$usive systems, which is represented by two layers with opposite
gradients of properties.
For example, a liquidwith the opposite concentrations gradient—salinity and
temperature—can be considered. It turns out that very surprising convective structures
between the double di$usive layers are observed.Stommel et al. [1] demonstratedthat the structures called“salt ngers” appear in the
system, containing hot salt water resting on coldfresh water. The typical “salt nger”
works as a pipe pumping Guidup andd own. Along these “salt ngers” columns, salty
water descends down, intersperses and exchanges heat with a similar array of fresh cold
water that is liftedup. The rate of heat exchange exceeds the rate of salt exchange
due to the di$erence between their di$usivities. It is considered to be a very e$ective
mechanism of convection.
The same consideration can be applied, for example, to the system containing salt and
sugar, just as in these cases salt plays the role of temperature, andsugar corresponds
to salt in the above-mentionedsystem.
It is the purpose of the present paper to report the result of a series of exploratory
laboratory experiments in which the “salt ngers” in the double-di$usive systems have
been studied.
In Section 2, we discuss a theory for the formation of the “salt ngers”. The results
of the measurements are representedin Section 3 andd iscussedin Section 4.
2. “Salt ngers” theory
It is well known from experiment that when a liquidplacedinto gravitational eld
can be stratiedandremains in the equilibrium state, it does not have uniform concentration
and density distribution. The density of the liquid increases at the bottom and
decreases towards the upper boundary. In any case, in steady state one may observe
the following distribution of temperature gradient: a layer of cold water is overlaid by
a layer of lighter warm water.
Let us, for instance, imagine the situation when there are both density and temperature
gradients and they are both opposite to each other. For example, hot salty water
is placedabove andfresh coldwater below. A question is raised: Can we argue that
the hydrostatic stability of this system is still the case? Even if the density distribution
corresponds to the steady state situation (the density of the system decreasing
upward against gravitational eld), the hydrostatic stability is not guaranteed and this
was conrmedexperimentally.
It was demonstrated in the series of experiments [1–3] conducted at the beginning
of the 1960s that a complex structure emerges between two layers belonging to a
double-di$usive system. These structures show up like planar polygons, as they seem
from above, andcolumns, as they seem from the side. These structures have come to
be known as “salt ngers”. “Salt ngers” represent the sequence of downfalling and
uprising water Gows, transporting salt andheat (or salt andsugar) via the interface
between the layers. The “salt ngers” constitute a very eJcient mechanism of di$usion.
It shouldbe pointedout that thermal di$usivity is larger when comparedto salt
di$usivity: KT =KS =100. It means that the rate of di$usion for these two components
is quite di$erent, but due to double-di$usion convection, the exchange rates of salt and
temperature are forcedto be comparable.