Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2009/iii/paper-73/1/i/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2009 iii Paper 73 1 i Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Choose upslope and normally downwards from the impermeable roof, so the buoyant layer occupies . Use the hydrostatic approximation and neglect the ambient return-flow pressure correction of relative order . Pressure continuity at the interface gives the pressure inside the buoyant layer asThe along-slope Darcy velocity is thereforeDefine . Integrating over depth gives the volume flux per unit width . Local fluid-volume conservation, including porosity, is . Hence the inclined porous gravity current satisfiesThe first term is upslope advection driven by the mass density difference; the second is nonlinear hydrostatic spreading. The Darcy velocity and the corresponding pore velocity must be distinguished.
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