The role of inlet location on the dynamics of thin two-dimensional buoyant surface jets

The transition between the motion of a subsurface buoyant jet and a supersurface buoyant jet has been studied. Measurements indicate that the transition region is sharp and characterized by an intermediate regime where both a wall-hugging flow and the more standard outlet flow are present. The point of transition was found to exhibit significant hysteresis depending on whether the receiving pool height was increasing or decreasing with time. Measurements of the temperature field downstream show that the effects of the different regimes on the density stratification can persist for long distances.