Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2012/iii/paper-79/3/ii/a/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2012 iii Paper 79 3 ii a Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Let be the vertical turbulent buoyancy flux, positive for heating from below. Its dimensions are length squared per time cubed. The stress velocity and height therefore admit a new dimensionless group . Define the signed Obukhov lengthStable cooling has ; unstable heating has . Monin-Obukhov similarity theory expresses the mean shear asThe similarity hypothesis assumes approximately steady, horizontally homogeneous, constant-stress and constant-flux conditions, with the observation level outside the inner sublayer but below the outer-layer scales. Dimensional analysis fixes the arguments and prefactor, not the entire function . A measured or modeled turbulence closure supplies its form.
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