Ross C. Kerr
Current Organizations / Institutes
The organizations/institutes from the scholar's latest article
Previous Organizations / Institutes
The organizations / institutes from the scholar's other articles in the past ten years
Research Subjects
Research Interests
Ross C. Kerr has a total of 45 co-authors. Here are the top co-authors by number of shared publications:
John R. Lister
Institute of Theoretical Geophysics, Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics University of Cambridge Wilberforce Road, Cambridge CB3 0WA UK
13 shared publications- Ross W. Griffiths
Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
8 shared publications Herbert E. Huppert
Institute of Theoretical Geophysics, Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, Silver Street, Cambridge CB3 9EW, UK
6 shared publications- M. Grae Worster
University of Cambridge
5 shared publications Andrew W. Woods
Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics
4 shared publications- Craig D. McConnochie
University of Canterbury
4 shared publications
Latest Publications
- Open Access
- 27 July 2017
- Published by American Geophysical Union (AGU) in Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans
- Vol. 122 (7) , 5905-5915
Testing a common ice‐ocean parameterization with laboratory experiments
- 27 July 2017
- Published by American Geophysical Union (AGU) in Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans
- Vol. 122 (7) , 5905-5915
Open AccessTesting a common ice‐ocean parameterization with laboratory experiments
- 31 May 2016
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Journal of Fluid Mechanics
- Vol. 798, 284-298
Simulation of convection at a vertical ice face dissolving into saline water
We investigate the convection and dissolution rate generated when a wall of ice dissolves into seawater under Antarctic Ocean conditions. In direct numerical simulations three coupled interface equations are used to solve for interface temperature, salinity and ablation velocity, along with the boundary layer flow and transport. The main focus is on ambient water temperatures between $-1\,^{\circ }\text{C}$ and $6\,^{\circ }\text{C}$ and salinities around 35 ‰, where diffusion of salt to the ice–water interface depresses the freezing point and enhances heat diffusion to the ice. We show that fluxes of both heat and salt to the interface are significant in governing the dissolution of ice, and the ablation velocity agrees well with experiments and a recent theoretical prediction. The same turbulent flow dynamics and ablation rate are expected to apply at any depth in a deeper ocean water column (after choosing the relevant pressure coefficient for the liquidus temperature). At Grashof numbers currently accessible by direct numerical simulation, turbulence is generated both directly from buoyancy flux and from shear production in the buoyancy-driven boundary layer flow, whereas shear production by the convective flow is expected to be more important at geophysical scales. The momentum balance in the boundary layer is dominated by buoyancy forcing and wall stress, with the latter characterised by a large drag coefficient.- 31 May 2016
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Journal of Fluid Mechanics
- Vol. 798, 284-298
Simulation of convection at a vertical ice face dissolving into saline water
We investigate the convection and dissolution rate generated when a wall of ice dissolves into seawater under Antarctic Ocean conditions. In direct numerical simulations three coupled interface equations are used to solve for interface temperature, salinity and ablation velocity, along with the boundary layer flow and transport. The main focus is on ambient water temperatures between $-1\,^{\circ }\text{C}$ and $6\,^{\circ }\text{C}$ and salinities around 35 ‰, where diffusion of salt to the ice–water interface depresses the freezing point and enhances heat diffusion to the ice. We show that fluxes of both heat and salt to the interface are significant in governing the dissolution of ice, and the ablation velocity agrees well with experiments and a recent theoretical prediction. The same turbulent flow dynamics and ablation rate are expected to apply at any depth in a deeper ocean water column (after choosing the relevant pressure coefficient for the liquidus temperature). At Grashof numbers currently accessible by direct numerical simulation, turbulence is generated both directly from buoyancy flux and from shear production in the buoyancy-driven boundary layer flow, whereas shear production by the convective flow is expected to be more important at geophysical scales. The momentum balance in the boundary layer is dominated by buoyancy forcing and wall stress, with the latter characterised by a large drag coefficient.- 24 February 2016
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Journal of Fluid Mechanics
- Vol. 791, 589-607
The effect of a salinity gradient on the dissolution of a vertical ice face
We investigate experimentally the effect of stratification on a vertical ice face dissolving into cold salty water. We measure the interface temperature, ablation velocity and turbulent plume velocity over a range of salinity gradients and compare our measurements with results of similar experiments without a salinity gradient (Kerr & McConnochie, J. Fluid Mech., vol. 765, 2015, pp. 211–228; McConnochie & Kerr, J. Fluid Mech., vol. 787, 2016, pp. 237–253). We observe that stratification acts to reduce the ablation velocity, interface temperature, plume velocity and plume acceleration. We define a stratification parameter, $S=N^{2}Q/{\it\Phi}_{o}$ , that describes where stratification will be important, where $N$ is the Brunt–Väisälä frequency, $Q$ is the height-dependent plume volume flux and ${\it\Phi}_{o}$ is the buoyancy flux per unit area without stratification. The relevance of this stratification parameter is supported by our experiments, which deviate from the homogeneous theory at approximately $S=1$ . Finally, we calculate values for the stratification parameter at a number of ice shelves and conclude that ocean stratification will have a significant effect on the dissolution of both the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets.- 24 February 2016
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Journal of Fluid Mechanics
- Vol. 791, 589-607
The effect of a salinity gradient on the dissolution of a vertical ice face
We investigate experimentally the effect of stratification on a vertical ice face dissolving into cold salty water. We measure the interface temperature, ablation velocity and turbulent plume velocity over a range of salinity gradients and compare our measurements with results of similar experiments without a salinity gradient (Kerr & McConnochie, J. Fluid Mech., vol. 765, 2015, pp. 211–228; McConnochie & Kerr, J. Fluid Mech., vol. 787, 2016, pp. 237–253). We observe that stratification acts to reduce the ablation velocity, interface temperature, plume velocity and plume acceleration. We define a stratification parameter, $S=N^{2}Q/{\it\Phi}_{o}$ , that describes where stratification will be important, where $N$ is the Brunt–Väisälä frequency, $Q$ is the height-dependent plume volume flux and ${\it\Phi}_{o}$ is the buoyancy flux per unit area without stratification. The relevance of this stratification parameter is supported by our experiments, which deviate from the homogeneous theory at approximately $S=1$ . Finally, we calculate values for the stratification parameter at a number of ice shelves and conclude that ocean stratification will have a significant effect on the dissolution of both the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets.- 15 December 2015
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Journal of Fluid Mechanics
- Vol. 787, 237-253
The turbulent wall plume from a vertically distributed source of buoyancy
We experimentally investigate the turbulent wall plume that forms next to a uniformly distributed source of buoyancy. Our experimental results are compared with the theoretical model and experiments of Cooper & Hunt (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 646, 2010, pp. 39–58). Our experiments give a top-hat entrainment coefficient of $0.048\pm 0.006$ . We measure a maximum vertical plume velocity that follows the scaling predicted by Cooper & Hunt but is significantly smaller. Our measurements allow us to construct a turbulent plume model that predicts all plume properties at any height. We use this plume model to calculate plume widths, velocities and Reynolds numbers for typical dissolving icebergs and ice fronts and for a typical room with a heated or cooled vertical surface.- 15 December 2015
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Journal of Fluid Mechanics
- Vol. 787, 237-253
The turbulent wall plume from a vertically distributed source of buoyancy
We experimentally investigate the turbulent wall plume that forms next to a uniformly distributed source of buoyancy. Our experimental results are compared with the theoretical model and experiments of Cooper & Hunt (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 646, 2010, pp. 39–58). Our experiments give a top-hat entrainment coefficient of $0.048\pm 0.006$ . We measure a maximum vertical plume velocity that follows the scaling predicted by Cooper & Hunt but is significantly smaller. Our measurements allow us to construct a turbulent plume model that predicts all plume properties at any height. We use this plume model to calculate plume widths, velocities and Reynolds numbers for typical dissolving icebergs and ice fronts and for a typical room with a heated or cooled vertical surface.- 19 January 2015
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Journal of Fluid Mechanics
- Vol. 765, 211-228
Dissolution of a vertical solid surface by turbulent compositional convection
We examine the dissolution of a vertical solid surface in the case where the heat and mass transfer is driven by turbulent compositional convection. A theoretical model of the turbulent dissolution of a vertical wall is developed, which builds on the scaling analysis presented by Kerr (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 280, 1994, pp. 287–302) for the turbulent dissolution of a horizontal floor or roof. The model has no free parameters and no dependence on height. The analysis is tested by comparing it with laboratory measurements of the ablation of a vertical ice wall in contact with salty water. The model is found to accurately predict the dissolution velocity for water temperatures up to approximately 5– $6\,^{\circ }\text{C}$ , where there is a transition from turbulent dissolution to turbulent melting. We quantify the turbulent convective dissolution of vertical ice bodies in the polar oceans, and compare our results with some field observations.- 19 January 2015
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Journal of Fluid Mechanics
- Vol. 765, 211-228
Dissolution of a vertical solid surface by turbulent compositional convection
We examine the dissolution of a vertical solid surface in the case where the heat and mass transfer is driven by turbulent compositional convection. A theoretical model of the turbulent dissolution of a vertical wall is developed, which builds on the scaling analysis presented by Kerr (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 280, 1994, pp. 287–302) for the turbulent dissolution of a horizontal floor or roof. The model has no free parameters and no dependence on height. The analysis is tested by comparing it with laboratory measurements of the ablation of a vertical ice wall in contact with salty water. The model is found to accurately predict the dissolution velocity for water temperatures up to approximately 5– $6\,^{\circ }\text{C}$ , where there is a transition from turbulent dissolution to turbulent melting. We quantify the turbulent convective dissolution of vertical ice bodies in the polar oceans, and compare our results with some field observations.- Open Access
- 1 January 2015
- Published by Elsevier in Procedia IUTAM
- Vol. 15, 165-171
Coupling of Cooling, Solidification and Gravity-driven Flow
- 1 January 2015
- Published by Elsevier in Procedia IUTAM
- Vol. 15, 165-171
Open AccessCoupling of Cooling, Solidification and Gravity-driven Flow
- Open Access
- 1 January 2015
- Published by Elsevier in Procedia IUTAM
- Vol. 15, 78-85
Melting Driven Convection at the Ice-seawater Interface
- 1 January 2015
- Published by Elsevier in Procedia IUTAM
- Vol. 15, 78-85
Open AccessMelting Driven Convection at the Ice-seawater Interface
- 19 July 2012
- Published by American Geophysical Union (AGU) in Journal of Geophysical Research
- Vol. 117 (B7)
Solidification dynamics in channeled viscoplastic lava flows
The influence of a viscoplastic lava rheology on the dynamics of channeled lava flows is analyzed using analogue experiments. The experiments used slurries of polyethylene glycol and kaolin, which flowed with a constant flux down an inclined channel under water. Three sets of complementary experiments are presented: isothermal, cooling, and solidifying flows which quantified the effects of the viscoplastic rheology on shear, internal convection and surface crust formation. The isothermal and cooling experiments showed the formation of unyielded central plug regions which were not broken up by the convective overturning. In the solidifying experiments flows fell into one of three regimes: a tube regime, in which crust covered the entire flow surface; a shear‐controlled regime, with a mobile raft of crust in the channel center and open shear zones near the walls; and a plug‐controlled regime where the width of the central crust was determined by the width of the central plug region. The crust coverage is parameterized in terms of two dimensionless parameters: the ratio wp of central plug region width to channel width and a parameter ϑ which characterizes the relative importance of the strain and solidification rates. Finally the dynamics of typical lava flows on Mt Etna and the 1984 Mauna Loa lava flow are examined. We show that our parameterization agrees with lava flow crust widths observed in the field and find that even small yield strengths have a major effect on crust coverage.
- 19 July 2012
- Published by American Geophysical Union (AGU) in Journal of Geophysical Research
- Vol. 117 (B7)
Solidification dynamics in channeled viscoplastic lava flows
The influence of a viscoplastic lava rheology on the dynamics of channeled lava flows is analyzed using analogue experiments. The experiments used slurries of polyethylene glycol and kaolin, which flowed with a constant flux down an inclined channel under water. Three sets of complementary experiments are presented: isothermal, cooling, and solidifying flows which quantified the effects of the viscoplastic rheology on shear, internal convection and surface crust formation. The isothermal and cooling experiments showed the formation of unyielded central plug regions which were not broken up by the convective overturning. In the solidifying experiments flows fell into one of three regimes: a tube regime, in which crust covered the entire flow surface; a shear‐controlled regime, with a mobile raft of crust in the channel center and open shear zones near the walls; and a plug‐controlled regime where the width of the central crust was determined by the width of the central plug region. The crust coverage is parameterized in terms of two dimensionless parameters: the ratio wp of central plug region width to channel width and a parameter ϑ which characterizes the relative importance of the strain and solidification rates. Finally the dynamics of typical lava flows on Mt Etna and the 1984 Mauna Loa lava flow are examined. We show that our parameterization agrees with lava flow crust widths observed in the field and find that even small yield strengths have a major effect on crust coverage.
- 20 May 2011
- Published by Springer Nature in Mineralium Deposita
- Vol. 46 (8) , 943-958
Mathematical modeling of thermomechanical erosion beneath Proterozoic komatiitic basaltic sinuous rilles in the Cape Smith Belt, New Québec, Canada
- 20 May 2011
- Published by Springer Nature in Mineralium Deposita
- Vol. 46 (8) , 943-958
Mathematical modeling of thermomechanical erosion beneath Proterozoic komatiitic basaltic sinuous rilles in the Cape Smith Belt, New Québec, Canada
- 1 February 2011
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Journal of Fluid Mechanics
- Vol. 671, 313-338
Rayleigh–Taylor instability of an inclined buoyant viscous cylinder
The Rayleigh–Taylor instability of an inclined buoyant cylinder of one very viscous fluid rising through another is examined through linear stability analysis, numerical simulation and experiment. The stability analysis represents linear eigenmodes of a given axial wavenumber as a Fourier series in the azimuthal direction, allowing the use of separable solutions to the Stokes equations in cylindrical polar coordinates. The most unstable wavenumber k∗ is long-wave if both the inclination angle α and the viscosity ratio λ (internal/external) are small; for this case, k∗ ∝ max{α, (λ ln λ−1)1/2} and thus a small angle in experiments can have a significant effect for λ ≪ 1. As α increases, the maximum growth rate decreases and the upward propagation rate of disturbances increases; all disturbances propagate without growth if the cylinder is sufficiently close to vertical, estimated as α ≳ 70°. Results from the linear stability analysis agree with numerical calculations for λ = 1 and experimental observations. A point-force numerical method is used to calculate the development of instability into a chain of individual plumes via a complex three-dimensional flow. Towed-source experiments show that nonlinear interactions between neighbouring plumes are important for α ≳ 20° and that disturbances can propagate out of the system without significant growth for α ≳ 40°.
- 1 February 2011
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Journal of Fluid Mechanics
- Vol. 671, 313-338
Rayleigh–Taylor instability of an inclined buoyant viscous cylinder
The Rayleigh–Taylor instability of an inclined buoyant cylinder of one very viscous fluid rising through another is examined through linear stability analysis, numerical simulation and experiment. The stability analysis represents linear eigenmodes of a given axial wavenumber as a Fourier series in the azimuthal direction, allowing the use of separable solutions to the Stokes equations in cylindrical polar coordinates. The most unstable wavenumber k∗ is long-wave if both the inclination angle α and the viscosity ratio λ (internal/external) are small; for this case, k∗ ∝ max{α, (λ ln λ−1)1/2} and thus a small angle in experiments can have a significant effect for λ ≪ 1. As α increases, the maximum growth rate decreases and the upward propagation rate of disturbances increases; all disturbances propagate without growth if the cylinder is sufficiently close to vertical, estimated as α ≳ 70°. Results from the linear stability analysis agree with numerical calculations for λ = 1 and experimental observations. A point-force numerical method is used to calculate the development of instability into a chain of individual plumes via a complex three-dimensional flow. Towed-source experiments show that nonlinear interactions between neighbouring plumes are important for α ≳ 20° and that disturbances can propagate out of the system without significant growth for α ≳ 40°.