{"title":"Thermohaline Staircases in the Ocean: Initiation, Evolution, and Structure","authors":"Yuchen Ma, W.R. Peltier, Matthew H. Alford","doi":"10.1146/annurev-fluid-120624-124639","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-fluid-120624-124639","url":null,"abstract":"Thermohaline staircases are stepped structures—well-mixed layers separated by thin, sharp interfaces—commonly observed in vertical temperature and salinity profiles in the ocean. They occur widely in subtropical thermoclines, marginal seas, and much of the Arctic Ocean beneath sea ice, and they strongly modulate vertical heat and salt transport, with potential consequences for large-scale climate dynamics. Since the last comprehensive review, theoretical, numerical, and observational advances have substantially refined our understanding of these structures and their relation to double-diffusive convection. In this review, we argue that salt-fingering (SF) and diffusive-convection (DC) staircases, although superficially similar, are dynamically distinct and should be treated separately. SF staircases are closely tied to the primary SF instability, whereas DC staircases appear to require additional physics beyond the primary DC instability. We synthesize recent progress on staircase formation, interface structure, and flux parameterizations and discuss the implications of staircase-induced mixing for climate dynamics.","PeriodicalId":50754,"journal":{"name":"Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics","volume":"58 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":27.7,"publicationDate":"2026-07-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148675352","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Asymmetry, Bistability, and Bifurcations in the Wake of Simplified Vehicles","authors":"Olivier Cadot, Vladimir Parezanović","doi":"10.1146/annurev-fluid-120624-112821","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-fluid-120624-112821","url":null,"abstract":"This review presents research from the past 15 years that has been motivated by the discovery of the bistability phenomenon in the turbulent wake dynamics of bluff bodies with rectangular bases. Works involving theory, experiment, numerical simulation, and modeling have been published on a broad scope encompassing the original laminar bifurcation; its evolution in the turbulent wake regime; the impact on the body aerodynamics; and the sensitivity of the wake asymmetry to geometry, freestream conditions, and flow control. The review aims to provide a unifying context for the bistability phenomenon and evaluate its contribution to the aerodynamic performance of bluff bodies relevant to a wide majority of land vehicles and some naval superstructures.","PeriodicalId":50754,"journal":{"name":"Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics","volume":"43 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":27.7,"publicationDate":"2026-07-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148675353","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Fluid Dynamics of Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation Stability","authors":"Henk A. Dijkstra, Elian Vanderborght","doi":"10.1146/annurev-fluid-120624-112349","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-fluid-120624-112349","url":null,"abstract":"The Atlantic Ocean circulation is susceptible to large-scale instabilities with potentially disrupting climate and societal impacts. These instabilities are caused by the sensitivity of the zonally integrated flow, the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC), to surface freshwater perturbations. The fluid dynamics of this stability problem is addressed here by focusing on the processes that set the pattern and amplitude of the equilibrium flow state, by identifying the feedback mechanisms responsible for the instabilities, and by connecting the resulting flow changes to variability and transition behavior. This framework is then used to explore why current Earth system models show such a diversity in simulating the present-day AMOC state, its multidecadal to multicentennial variability, and its projections under global warming.","PeriodicalId":50754,"journal":{"name":"Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics","volume":"173 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":27.7,"publicationDate":"2026-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148552136","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Physics-Constrained Bayesian Inference of Magnetic Resonance Velocimetry Data","authors":"Matthew P. Juniper, Alexandros Kontogiannis","doi":"10.1146/annurev-fluid-120624-010209","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-fluid-120624-010209","url":null,"abstract":"Magnetic resonance velocimetry provides quantitative three-component three-dimensional velocity data but has poor spatial resolution, poor signal-to-noise ratio, and prohibitively long acquisition times for many applications. When combined with physical knowledge such as conservation of mass, the Navier–Stokes equations, and a constitutive model for the viscosity, however, this data's high information content can generate superresolved fields that include unmeasured variables such as the pressure and wall shear stress. This combination is achieved by asserting a physical model, creating a well-posed Bayesian inverse problem with a small search space, and solving it with gradient-based optimization accelerated with adjoint methods. Different physical models can be proposed and the likelihood of each model can be calculated, given the data. With a similar method, the information content of the data can be calculated, given each model. This careful probabilistic representation of uncertainty allows models to be ranked, data quality to be assessed, and future experiments to be designed. We outline the history and principles of this method, provide two toy problems, and show three applications to magnetic resonance velocimetry data.","PeriodicalId":50754,"journal":{"name":"Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":27.7,"publicationDate":"2026-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148552147","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Turbulent Convection in Stellar Cores","authors":"Daniel Lecoanet","doi":"10.1146/annurev-fluid-112723-053344","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-fluid-112723-053344","url":null,"abstract":"Convection in stellar cores hosts a wide range of fluid dynamical phenomena. Characterized by high Reynolds and Peclet numbers, the convection is rotationally constrained with low Rossby numbers and has very low Prandtl and Mach numbers. This review describes the main properties of this turbulent convection, as well as how associated fluid processes affect our broader understanding of stars. Numerical simulations have given new insights into the dynamics of convection in stellar cores. As the convection has very high Rayleigh numbers and is internally heated and internally cooled, it appears to be in the ultimate, or diffusion free, regime. The convection drives a magnetic dynamo, leads to mixing at the boundary of the convection zone, and generates internal waves that propagate into the stably stratified stellar envelope. While we are beginning to understand some of these aspects of stellar convection, many properties of stellar cores remain a mystery, and new efforts are required to determine how these fluid processes affect stellar evolution.","PeriodicalId":50754,"journal":{"name":"Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics","volume":"2 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":27.7,"publicationDate":"2026-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148552148","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kunihiko Taira, Michael Amitay, Vassilios Theofilis
{"title":"Three-Dimensional Massively Separated Flows over Wings","authors":"Kunihiko Taira, Michael Amitay, Vassilios Theofilis","doi":"10.1146/annurev-fluid-120624-110046","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-fluid-120624-110046","url":null,"abstract":"Three-dimensional massively separated flows around finite wings at high angles of attack exhibit complex dynamics. The wakes feature large-scale flow structures, including the separation bubbles, stall cells, shear layers, tip vortices, leading- and trailing-edge vortices, arch vortices, and ram's horn vortices. Smaller vortices also emerge from the breakdown of the larger structures through various instability mechanisms. The collection of the large-scale flow features strongly influences the three-dimensional nature of the flow and the forces exerted on the wing. The planform parameters of aspect ratio, sweep, taper ratio, and twist determine the structures and instabilities that are accentuated in the wake, giving rise to a wide variety of behaviors. These wake dynamics have been studied extensively over the last decade in coordinated experimental, computational, and theoretical investigations across a range of Reynolds numbers. In particular, modal and nonmodal linear global stability analyses of the three-dimensional separated flows have provided enhanced physical insights and supported the design of flow control strategies. The effectiveness of control approaches for massively separated flows has been verified by companion experiments for both laminar and turbulent regimes. This review summarizes research efforts that have elucidated large-scale separated flow characteristics and universal flow features across different wake regimes in translating wings from low to moderate Reynolds numbers. The findings from these efforts provide a foundation for a deeper understanding of massively separated flows at higher Reynolds numbers and suggest potential opportunities for wake analysis of wings experiencing dynamic motion and gusts.","PeriodicalId":50754,"journal":{"name":"Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics","volume":"77 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":27.7,"publicationDate":"2026-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148552137","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Isabelle Cantat, Savinien Pertant, Christophe Raufaste, Emmanuelle Rio
{"title":"Capillary Drainage in Horizontal Soap Films: Theoretical Review and Experimental Illustrations","authors":"Isabelle Cantat, Savinien Pertant, Christophe Raufaste, Emmanuelle Rio","doi":"10.1146/annurev-fluid-100224-111138","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-fluid-100224-111138","url":null,"abstract":"Soap films and bubbles are inherently unstable systems that evolve over time. Their thickness is primarily governed by the competition between capillary and viscous forces. The presence of surfactants introduces Marangoni stresses, which limit interfacial extension and significantly increase film lifetime. While the bulk flow is typically well-described by a simple Poiseuille profile between the two interfaces, the interfacial dynamics can induce complex behaviors, even in the simple case of horizontal film drainage, which is used as a paradigmatic example in this review. The interfacial velocity is dictated by the thickness gradients and by the interfacial rheology, which, in many practical cases, reduces to the condition of an incompressible interface. This simplified framework allows for analytical predictions and scaling laws in axisymmetric flows. It is also consistent with the spontaneous symmetry breaking that may be observed in horizontal films—a phenomenon associated with the marginal regeneration process, which remains only partially understood. This review presents the most elementary theoretical frameworks capable of capturing the essential features of these flows and provides quantitative comparisons with available experimental data.","PeriodicalId":50754,"journal":{"name":"Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics","volume":"119 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":27.7,"publicationDate":"2026-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146109705","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Fluid Mechanics for Green Buildings","authors":"Andrew W. Woods","doi":"10.1146/annurev-fluid-112723-053105","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-fluid-112723-053105","url":null,"abstract":"Decarbonization of buildings is one of the main challenges for the energy transition. In particular, the provision of heating, cooling, and ventilation to maintain a comfortable and healthy interior environment can be very energy intensive. Three approaches to help with the decarbonization of buildings are ( <jats:italic>a</jats:italic> ) upgrading the building envelope, especially the insulation, to reduce heat flow to or from the exterior; ( <jats:italic>b</jats:italic> ) improving the efficiency of the heating or cooling system, including the design and operation of ventilation flows; and ( <jats:italic>c</jats:italic> ) decarbonization of the heating and cooling systems, typically through electrification using heat pumps, and possibly the development of heat networks and interseasonal heat storage. This review touches on different elements of these challenges, mainly those related to ventilation, exploring some of the complexities of the fluid mechanics involved.","PeriodicalId":50754,"journal":{"name":"Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics","volume":"16 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":27.7,"publicationDate":"2026-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146110155","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Role of Canopy Turbulence in Wildland Fire Behavior","authors":"Tirtha Banerjee","doi":"10.1146/annurev-fluid-112723-062216","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-fluid-112723-062216","url":null,"abstract":"Characterizing the physical and dynamic meteorology of wildland fires has obvious socioeconomic importance and is necessary to develop not only firefighting but also mitigation strategies such as prescribed burns and effective fuel management practices such as forest thinning. However, despite significant progress over a century, there are shortcomings in our understanding of the physical processes governing wildland fire behavior. Although some research progress has been made in understanding how fires spread on grasslands, several aspects of fire behavior within the forest canopy environment are still not well-understood. This review is an attempt to organize the fluid mechanics of the mass, momentum, and energy transfer during wildland fire events through the lens of vegetation canopy turbulence. The structure, organization, and progress of the flame front and the buoyant plume through the canopy are shown to be intricately related to the coherent structures associated with fire–vegetation–atmosphere interaction, and potential future research directions are identified.","PeriodicalId":50754,"journal":{"name":"Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics","volume":"8 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":27.7,"publicationDate":"2026-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146110156","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Fluid Mechanics of Blood Cells and Vesicles Squeezing Through Narrow Constrictions","authors":"Zhangli Peng, Annie Viallat, Yuan-Nan Young","doi":"10.1146/annurev-fluid-112723-052727","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-fluid-112723-052727","url":null,"abstract":"The squeezing of blood cells and vesicles through narrow constrictions, such as splenic slits, pulmonary capillaries, vascular endothelial gaps, and microfluidic channels, is crucial in physiology and biotechnology, with fluid mechanics playing a central role. The diverse geometries of these constrictions, the associated flow conditions, and the unique mechanical properties of cells and vesicles create a rich subject in fluid mechanics emerging from nonlinear dynamics of fluid–structure interactions involving both lubrication and Marangoni flows. Advances in microfluidics, video microscopy, and computational modeling have enabled investigations into these complex processes. This review surveys the key features and approaches, recent prominent studies, and unresolved challenges related to these processes, offering insights for researchers across biomechanics, biomedical engineering, biological physics, hematology, physiology, and applied mathematics.","PeriodicalId":50754,"journal":{"name":"Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics","volume":"99 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":27.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145215609","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}