PASSIVE PARTICLE DYNAMICS IN A FLOW EXHIBITING TRANSITION TO TURBULENCE

The behavior of a passive particle in a flow that exhibits bifurcation s in the transition to a turbulent regime is investigated. The flow co nsidered is a variant of the Charney-Hasegawa-Mima equation. The scala r particle dynamics is considered for different regimes of the main fl ow. A regime of anomalous diffusion (hypodiffusion) is observed when t he field has few harmonics whereas normal diffusion occurs in the stra nge attractor regime. The analysis of the singular orbit reveals the p resence of traps and flights that control the transport. (C) 1997 Amer ican Institute of Physics.