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For our Dig Deeper Project, Bea and I we wanted to build on our work from Project 3, where we examined the general flow dynamics created by the interaction of fluids of different air masses. In Project 3, we modeled the Hadley circulation as a two-layer system, but we didn't really think about how the boundary affected the fluid flow. Of course, fronts are really important for weather systems - most everyday weather phenomena occur at frontal boundaries. In this experiment, we investigated the frontal boundary more closely.
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Initially, the shape of the front resembles a Gaussian, with a wide sloping surface and flat top. As the experiment progressedprogresses, the front gradually became becomes smaller in size and its sides flattenedflatten, leaving a sharp peak in the center. While the fluid is not in perfect hydrostatic balance, otherwise the front would last forever, it is stable enough that we assume hydrostatic balance as we did in our theoretical calculations.
5 Challenge: Inverting the Dome!
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