Dimensional transition of energy cascades in stably stratified forced thin fluid layers

Abstract

We study the effects of a stable density stratification on the turbulent dynamics of thin fluid layers forced at intermediate scales. By means of a set of high-resolution numerical simulations, performed within the Boussinesq approximation, we investigate how the stratification and confinement affect the mechanisms of kinetic and potential energy transfer. The detailed analysis of the statistics of the energy-dissipation rates and energy-exchange rates and of the spectral fluxes of potential and kinetic energy shows that stratification provides a new channel for the energy transfer towards small scales which reduces the large-scale flux of kinetic energy. We also discuss the role of vortex stretching and enstrophy flux in the transfer of kinetic energy into potential energy at small scales.