The convection induced by turbulent buoyant plumes in a rectangular "fillin
g box" (Baines and Turner, 1969) is extended to situations where the lower
depths of the box are divided into two basins by a vertical barrier. The ba
rrier restricts horizontal spreading and allows the interbasin exchange of
water to occur only in the common region above the barrier height. One- and
two-plume systems are considered; in the two-plume case, it is assumed tha
t each of the plumes arises from an independent buoyancy source above each
basin. The resulting two-basin circulation is characterized by different st
ratifications in each basin and by an overflow from one basin into the othe
r. The spreading depths of the plumes and ambient stratification depend on
the barrier height, relative basin sizes, and, in the two-plume case, the r
elative strengths of the two buoyancy fluxes. These results may be of relev
ance to multibasin seas and oceans where the circulation produced by near-s
urface sources of intermediate and deep water is influenced by underwater r
idges.