Thermodynamics and ice melt flows
Posted on March 31, 2022 by curryja | 6 Comments
by Dan Hughes
I recently ran across the paper by Isenko et al. [2005] listed below. The second paragraph of the introduction states:
“According to the conservation of energy, the loss of potential energy for a volume of water is sufficient to warm it by 0.2 C for each 100 m of lowering.”
The described process corresponds to isentropic compression of liquid water by increasing the pressure by about 1 MPa, through a change in elevation of 100.0 m. Note that the temperature change is given independent of any other information relating to flow velocity, kinetic energy, viscosity, dissipation, or any details of the flow channel that might affect conversion to thermal energy by viscous dissipation of kinetic energy. Especially note that for the case of flows in horizontal channels, for which the potential energy change is zero, apparently there would not be any temperature changes. The same can be said relative to flows upward against gravity.
https://judithcurry.com/2022/03/31/thermodynamics-and-ice-melt-flows/
