ABSTRACT

Turbulence and the enhanced mixing it causes, above and beyond molecularmixingrates,isofgreatimportanceincontrolling thetransportofheat,salt,momentum,chemicaltracers,suspendedparticles,andbiologicalmatterinenvironmentalžows. Whilesomeenvironmentalžowscanbesteady,suchasriverine žowsorindustrialjetandplumedischargesintothe atmosphere orocean,mostobservationsofturbulenceintheenvironment showittobecharacterizedbyitsvariabilityinbothspaceand time.Itisthisvariability,alongwiththeinherentlystatistical natureofturbulence,whichmakesitchallengingtoquantifythe e§ects of turbulent mixing in the environment.