Mixing in horizontally heterogeneous flows

An experimental study of mixing across density interfaces produced by laterally heterogenous turbulence is presented in this paper. The turbulence is generated by a flow or air bubles rising through a density interface produced by brine and fresh water. The mixing efficiency, , of the process is measured comparing the increase in potential energy with the available kinetic energy. We find that there is a decrease in the global mixing efficiency of the process with the length of the tank, the shape of (Ri) depends also on the air flow producing the turbulence, showing a geometrical limit to the ammount of kinetic energy which may be used for mixing.