Flow structures and vertical transport in tilting salt fingers with a background shear

Abstract

Fingering double diffusive convection plays an important role in the vertical mixing of the ocean, and is inevitably affected by background shear. Here we show that with a very weak shear salt fingers become horizontally well-organized, and the salinity flux can be enhanced. While for strong shear salt fingers are replaced by sheet-like structures and fluxes are suppressed compared to the cases without shear.