An interactive tool for stratigraphic visualization applied to
turbulence-resolved numerical simulations of turbidity currents
Abstract
Hyperpycnal flows are produced when the density of a fluid flowing in a
relatively quiescent basin is greater than the density of the fluid in
the basin. The density differences can be due to the difference in
temperatures, salinity, turbidity, concentration, or a combination of
them. Turbulence-resolved numerical simulations of such flows, in
particular DNS (Direct Numerical Simulations), generate vasts amounts of
resulting data. In the case of poli-disperse particle laden gravity
currents simulations, where several sediments diameters are considered,
very detailed data of the concentration field is available near bed. It
can be post processed and analysed as a deposition map of one geological
event. Traditional visualization tools lack the geological visual
metaphor, and a new visual and interactive tool is proposed in this
work. The aim of this new tool is to provide a better way to visualize
numerical simulation results of particle laden gravity currents,
plotting the results with the visual resemblance of a stratigraphic
image. Since numerical simulation results usually have better
spatio-temporal resolution compared to traditional stratigraphy, as the
resolution depends exclusively on the amount of computing power
available and it gets higher each day, the proposed interactive tool let
the user visualize how the deposition map evolves in time and space.
This tool can be employed to analyse the link between the deposition map
and the turbulent flow that produced it, and the influence of all
governing parameters. Numerical data was provided by Incompact3d, a code
based on a Boussinesq system for incompressible fluids, designed for
supercomputers. However this particular approach is a data driven post
processing tool, thus it should be compatible with any numerical solver.