Large eddy simulation analysis of a model reactive tracer through spatial filtering

Large eddy simulations (LES) provide a methodology for both analyzing and simulating multi-scale flows when the smallest scales of motion cannot be resolved. Within environmental flows there exist numerous biogeochemical processes involving tracers undergoing reactions. In this study, we perform an a posteriori LES analysis on a direct numerical simulation of an idealized model reactive tracer subjected to three-dimensional turbulence induced by a Rayleigh–Taylor instability. The governing equations, including an advection–diffusion–reaction equation for the reactive tracer, are filtered, and the resulting sub-filter-scale terms are expressed in terms of interactions between scales. The procedure is demonstrated for a generalized degree N polynomial reaction function. Various spectral filters are applied to the data and compared. The preferential choice is to use the widest filter possible with a smoothed cutoff. The sub-filter-scale reaction term that results from filtering the reaction function is considered for each of the filter choices. When using a particularly harsh filter, local balances are found for the resolved scale and cross-scale components of the sub-filter-scale reaction term. The same result is shown for the vertical sub-filter-scale flux for both a reactive and a passive tracer. The components of the sub-filter-scale reaction and vertical flux terms involving interactions at the sub-filter-scale do not show any evidence of local balances and are distributed around the fine turbulent structures in the flow. This suggests that parameterizations for the sub-filter-scale terms would benefit from considering event specific dynamics.