Abstract
The boundary layer above the sea bed, particularly in deep water, is one of the least understood of all geophysical scale flows, largely because few observational data within this region have been collected. The flow characteristics here are important in determining the vertical transport of suspended material and chemical substances to and from the sediments as well as the horizontal transport of sediments along the bottom boundary. A considerable body of knowledge dealing with boundary layer flows has been built up from theoretical models as well as from measurements in the laboratory, and in naturally occurring geophysical scale flows. Much more data in the layers at the sea floor, especially in the deeper part of the ocean, has to be obtained before one can establish a reliable basis for comparison of such benthic boundary layer flows with similar phenomena in the lower atmosphere and the laboratory. A further reason for developing an adequate description of the bottom boundary layer flow arises from the fact that it is necessary to understand the interaction between the flow in the interior of the ocean and the flow and stresses near the bottom boundary in order to model effectively the dynamics in the interior of the ocean.
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© 1976 Plenum Press, New York
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McCave, I.N. (1976). Velocity Variations, Turbulence, and Stability. In: McCave, I.N. (eds) The Benthic Boundary Layer. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-8747-7_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-8747-7_11
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