WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH, VOL. 20, NO.

9, PAGES 1225-1229, SEPTEMBER 1984

Scalesfor Double-Diffusive Fingering in Porous Media

THEODORE GREEN

Departmentof Civil and EnvironmentalEngineering,Universityof Wisconsin-Madison

The influenceof the double-diffusiveprocessof fingeringon vertical transportin a porousmedium is

examined,usinga very successful model borrowedfrom oceanicsalt finger theory. The resultssuggest
that fluxesassociatedwith double-diffusivefingeringmay well be important, at leastin regionswhere the
porous medium is saturated.The effect of horizontal dispersionremainsto be accountedfor and will
probably placelimits on the efficiencyof the process.

INTRODUCTION and laboratory experiments,coupledwith a substantialdegree

Groundwater motions and the associated vertical of doubt among many of the oceanographiccommunity as to
fluxes
driven by density differences can be very important to the importance of salt fingers in nature, took place before
questionsof groundwaterquality. For the typical casewhere fingers were actually photographed in the ocean. Now their
there is a vertical groundwaterdensitygradientwhich is hori- importanceto the vertical flux of salt is quite commonlyac-
zontally uniform, there is an extensiveliterature [Combarnous cepted. It is also interestingto note that the main factors
and Bories, 1975]. Such a case arises, for example, with a thought to inhibit such fingersin the ocean (turbulence,and
saturated,fertilized field with soil (and groundwater)of uni- shearsdue to internal waves)are not likely to be important in
form temperature. Here the dissolved,near-surfacefertilizer a porous medium. Finally, it should be noted that work has
provides the unstable density gradient which can, if large been done on the opposite case of warm, salty water below
enough,drive a cellularcirculation[e.g.,Lapwood,1948]. colder, fresher water in a porous medium [e.g., Rubin and
A similar but more complexsituation can also be impor- Roth, 1979]. This situation,however,does not lead to finger-
tant. In the aboveexamplethe sun-heatedsoil near the surface ing but rather to the formation of layers in which the salinity
is usually warmer than that beneath. Often the upward and temperatureare relatively constant.
groundwater density decreasedue to this increasedtemper- Often the groundwater base state changesrather quickly
ature more than compensatesfor the density increasedue to and may becomevery unstableto fingers.Then the question
the solute,and the near-surfacewater is lighter than that be- seemsto be one of scales.Do the fingersform fast enough to
neath. The water is then gravitationally stable, and density- be important? Is their width large enough compared to the
drivenmotionswould not be expectedto occur. porous medium grain size that Darcy's law can be used and
However, Taunton et al. [1972] showed that motions can small compared to the horizontal base-statescale (e.g., the
occur in this situation because of the difference between solute width of a field)?We will addressthesequestionsbelow,using
diffusivity and heat conductivity of the groundwater and a model which has proved quite successful in interpretinglab-
porous medium. In fact, this situation is closelyanalogousto oratory experiments in water and so can be used with at least
the common and widely investigatedoceanicsituation where someconfidencein porous media.
warm, salty water overlies colder, fresher water. Here "salt ANALYSIS
fingers"form [Turner, 1973] and seemto be responsiblefor a
large fraction of the vertical salt transport in the ocean.This The discussionwill be limited to supercriticalsituations:the
"double-diffusion"phenomenonoccursbecausethe heat con- temperatureand salinity gradientsare such that fingers will
ductivity is far greater than the salt diffusivity, which allows form very fast and grow to large amplitude (see,for example,
small vertical perturbationsof the originally horizontal inter- Taunton et al. [1972]). Then considerthe simplestmodel for
face to equilibrate relatively quickly in temperature and thus fingersof finite amplitude, which was apparently first intro-
become gravitationally unstable. The perturbations grow, ducedby Huppert and Manins [1973] and was generalizedby
more fluid follows, and fingersform. This instability is due to Stern [1975] and then by Schmitt [1979]. The motion is as-
the presenceof two substancesaffectingdensity,which diffuse sumed to be purely vertical, with filtration velocity w'. This is
at different rates. For conveniencethese two quantities will in accord with observedfingersbeing long and thin and ori-
always be referred to below as heat (the rapidly diffusing ented vertically.The filtration velocity is taken to be indepen-
quantity)and salt (the slowlydiffusingquantity). dent of the vertical (z) direction, so that mass conservationis
Does a similar phenomenonoccur in groundwater? Taun- satisfiedidentically.Write the fluid temperatureT and salinity
$ as
ton et al. [1972] showed that for certain conditions a base
state of uniform vertical gradientsof salt and temperatureis
indeed unstable to small perturbations.However, much more T=T+T' S=S+S'
work needs to be done before one can be certain about the
relative importance of the ensuing fingering, compared to where the bar denotes a horizontal average and the prime a
other mechanismsfor vertical transport. The oceanicanalogy deviation from this average.Assumethat T, S vary linearly in
is instructive here: two decadesof interplay between theory
the vertical direction and that T', S' vary sinusoidallyin both
horizontal directions (x, y). Then, after subtracting out the
Copyright 1984 by the AmericanGeophysicalUnion. hydrostatic portion of the vertical momentum balance and
Paper number 4W0817. using the Boussinesqapproximation, the momentum, heat
0043-1397/84/004W-0817505.00 conservation,and salt conservationequationsbecome
1225
1226 GREEN' DOUBLE-DIFFUSIVEFINGERING

a Ot+• +o•gT'+figS'=O •,(G+ M 2)= --W (2)

R(G + zM 2) = -W
(1)
O•(o•T')
+ w'o•O•:
= KTV22•zT
' Thus the assumedmodel leadsto three equationsfor the non-
• Wt dimensionalgrowth rate G, filtration velocity W, wave
numberM, and flux ratio •,. We will first considerthe finger
(ils')
+- ils,= growthrate.Eliminate•, and W fromtheseequationsto get
Here
Ao+ AxG+ A2G2+ G3 -' 0 (3)
v kinematicviscosity; where
k permeability;
tt porosity; Ao = zM2(1+ QM2)-- M2/R
0 -- (pc)s/E•(pc)s
+ (1 - •)(pck]; Ax=zM '•+QM2(I+z)+ 1--1/R
(pc)f,(pc)s heatcapacities of the fluidandsolidfractions;
a coefficientof thermal "densityexpansion," A2 = Q+M2(1 +z)
(1/pgPp/PT), a < O;
We now askwhichmode(i.e.,whichvalueof M, Mina,)gives
• coefficientof saline"densityexpansion,"
the largestgrowth rate Gmaxfor fixed valuesof z, Q, and R.
(1/pXOp/OS), fi > 0;
Inspectionof equation (3) showsthat there are no positive
Kr diffusivityof T' in the porousmedium;
rootsG unlessM 2 is suchthat QM2 < (l/R0- 1, whichde-
Ks diffusivityof S' in the porousmedium;
finesan upper bound M,. If this inequality is satisfied,there is
T: = one (and only one)positiveG whichsatisfiesthe equation.An
s: = (aS/az); approximatesolutioncanbe foundby notingthat the G2 and
G3 termsin (3) arerelativelysmall.Then,in thelimit asz--• 0,
Mmax 2•, oOand Gma x•, 1/RQ.A closerapproximation
found
We assume,with previousauthorsstudyinggroundwatercon- by neglecting
the G2 andG3termsgives
vection,that a simple,effectivethermal diffusivityKr can be
employedin this time-dependentsituation.A comprehensive
discussion of the implicationsof this assumptionis givenby
Mmax
2RQ(1
+z)~(1
R-1 --z2R•
z(R-- •/2
1)J --1
Combarnousand Bories [1975]. The assumptionof vertical underthe furtherapproximation (22>>1. G,•,• can thenbe
motion allowssolutionswhich are independentof z: foundfrom(3),againdroppingthe G2 and G3 terms.However,
solvingfor Mmax,Gma
x numericallypresentsno specialprob-
T'= e•t T sinmxxsinm2y lems and was done with a hand calculator. The G values for
S'= e•' S sinmxxsinm2y variousM (and fixed, physicallyreasonablevaluesof R, (2,
and z) are shownin Figure 1. Note that Mmax tendsto be near
w'= e•' w sinmxxsinm2Y the upperbound M.. The valuesof Mmax and Gm• for wide
whereme = mx2 + me2. Here (w, S, T) are the amplitudes of rangesof R and (2 are shown in Figure 2 for a value of z
(w', S', T'), and (;t-x, m-x) are time and spacescalesof the appropriate for heat and sodium chloride. Here the lower left
phenomenon.For example,•r/mxis the width of the fingers portion correspondsto sandsor gravelswith basestate den-
when they are square.The theory cannotascertainmx or m2 sity gradientsthat are relatively close to giving a gravi-
separately;laboratorywork in water showsthat m• and m2 tationally unstablesituation.For example,since•0 is order
tend to be equal (i.e.,the salt fingersare squarein planform) one,R = 2 denotesa basestatein whichthe (stabilizing) verti-
unlessthere is a shearflow, in which casethe fingersbecome cal changeof densitydueto temperaturechangeis only about
sheetsaligned with the flow. Now define the dimensionless twice the (destabilizing)verticalchangeof densitydue to the
variables changein salt content.The upper right portion of the figure
corresponds to clayswherethe net basestatedensitygradient
G = •./A Q = av/(kA) is quite stable. Recallingthat the inversesof M and G are
W = wA/(agfiS) 7 = - o•T/(fiS) measuresof the fingerwidth and time scale,it is clear that soil
fingersare far thinnerand occurmuchfasterin sandysoilsin
M 2 = m2KT/A z = Ks/KT which the water is just slightlystable.The solutiondomainis
R = -O(T,/fiS3 limitedto R < l/r: otherwise,
M 2 is negative.A similarlimit
occurswith salt fingers[Turner, 1973].
(the base state density gradient ratio, which is the forcing What do theseresultsmeanin dimensionalterms?Typical
parameter,
andispositive),
whereA = (-a0o•g•:)•/2. (large)temperaturegradientscouldprobablyrun from løC/m
It is usefulfor what followsto give typical values.A very to løC/cm, givingthe A range0.02 < A < 0.2 s-x. This leads
largeverticaltemperaturegradientwould seemto be løC/cm, to the scalesshownbelow,for two temperaturegradients:
giving an upper bound on A of about 0.2. Then a lower limit
on Q is about103(for largetemperature in coarse Time scaleJr-x,s
gradients
sand). The value of z for heat and sodium chloride is about
10-2; much higher and lower valuescould also be en- 5/Gmax 50/Gmax
countered,dependingon the two substances affectingthe den-
sity.The original threeequations(1) now become Finger width •r/mx,cm

W(G+ Q)= • - 1 (10Mmax)

-x (4Mmax)
-•
 GREEN: DOUBLE-DIFFUSIVEFINGERING 1227

g/m1

Fs~ • 1(•)2ffw'S'
dxdy-
o
8v
This order-of-magnitude estimateis independentof the tem-
peraturedifferencebetweenthe two mixed layers.This seem-
ingly obviousdeficiencycould be removedby making the
above analysisslightly more accurate.However, the several
other assumptions which would be still implicit in the model
argueagainstsucha refinement.For example,it is very likely
that mechanicaldispersionwill increasethe value of •. This
couldwell be the mostseriouslimitationon the aboveanaly-
sis.
I I -

10 -4
M2
10-2 It shouldbe noted that dimensionalargumentsmay in the
Fig. 1. The finger growth rate G as a function of the wave
future be productivein relatingsalt flux to known quantities.
numberM, for Q = 103,R = 10,andthediffusivity ratios• = 0, 0.01, But the number of independentparametersis large, and no
and 0.05. Seethe text for definitionsof the symbols. experimentsexistto suggesta way to organizetheseparame-
ters. For example,the constantsin the dimensionallyderived
resultsof Turner [1973] dependheavilyon molecularproper-
Typical (large) valuesof Gma x and Minax from Figure 2 then ties. These do not vary much in water. However, their soil
givea time scaleof the order of fractionsof a day and finger finger counterparts(e.g., k) can vary widely and so should
widths of the order of centimeters. The time scale seems small influencethe flux heavily.
comparedwith that for the presenceof, say, pesticidesin a Finally, the ratio of heat and salt fluxes,•, is also of some
field, and the spacescaleis certainlysmall comparedto the interest.This can be easilyderivedfrom equations(2): • ~ • 1
field width. Thus it seemsentirely possiblethat soil fingers + •(G + M2)•- •. For small• it variesmainlywithR: • ~ 0.1
contribute significantly to near-surfacevertical fluxes in the for R • 1; • • 1 for R • 1/•. Note that • is alwayslessthan 1.
saturatedzone. Their importancein other situations,suchas DISCUSSION
beneathlandfills,is alsosuggested.
It would be satisfyingto be able to compare double-
diffusivefingeringto the more well studied"viscousfingering"
VERTICAL SALT FLUX associatedwith mobility differencesacrossa sharp, moving
interface (see, for example, Woodin,] and Morel-Seytoux
The quantity of most practical importanceis usually the [1976]). Unfortunately,the assumptionsmade in the analyses
vertical flux of salt. (For example,this allows an estimateof of the two phenomenaare at this point so differentthat sucha
the residencetime of a pesticidein near-surface,saturated comparison is difficult. For example, almost all models of
soil.) Thus it is very tempting to try to estimate this flux, double diffusion rest on constant salinity and temperature
althoughwe do so with much hesitation,being without the gradients and also on constant viscosity and permeability
relatively rich experimental data set available for such esti- [Cornbarnousand Bories, 1975]. Even in water, where more
matesin the caseof oceanicsalt fingers.We will try to do this work has been done, analysesof sharp interfacesare in fact
to an order of magnitudeonly, only in the limit as •--• 0, and basedon the slow decayof originally sharp increasesof tem-
in a steadystate.Also, the standardand well-proven(water) perature and salinity acrossthe interface,by diffusion [Hup-
modelof two mixedlayers,separatedby a rather thin layer in pert and Manins, 1973]. On the other hand, modelsdescribing
which salt fingersoccur, is implicit in what follows.Whether viscousfingeringusea sharp interfaceand ignorethe diffusive
or not this is also a good model in porous media must be effectswhich would modify the interface,at least when con-
determinedby observation.The upper mixed layer has the sidering the stability of small disturbances.Moreover, the
uniform salinity S•; the lower has salinity S2. Then, in the movementof the interfaceis very important to the dynamics
abovenotation,S = (S• - S2)/2. of the process.
With salt diffusionneglected,the key equationsare those
describing momentumand heat conservation. In a steadystate
(4 = 0), and assumingthe same functional forms as above,
theseequationsare

WQ = •, -- 1 •'M2 -- -- W
Eliminating• gives
W = -(Q + l/M2) -•
We assume,following Schmitt[1979] and many others,that
the width of the fastest-growingfingers dominates in the
steadystate. SinceMinax growswithout limit as ß• 0, W ~
- 1/Q,which gives,disregardingthe minussign,w ~ karlSly. 103 Q lOG
(It shouldbe noted that this result is very similar, under the Fig. 2. Growth rates G (solid curves)and squaredwave numbers
M e (dashed
curves)
for x = 0.01and reasonable
rangesof R and Q.
appropriatetransformationfrom v to k, to that givenfor water The lines are isolinesspacedin powers of 10. A number by a line
by Turner [1973].) Then the downwardsalt flux for square denotesthe inversepowerof 10 appropriateto that line. For example,
fingersis 3 means10-3. Seethetextfordefinitions
of thesymbols.
1228 GREEN: DOUBLE-DIFFUSIVE FINGERING

However, an elementary consideration of the stationary,
sharp interface may be instructive.The reasoningof Huppert
and Manins considersthe time changeof salinity and temper-
ature gradientsnear the (horizontal) interface,in conjunction
with the classicalfree-boundaryRayleigh criterion for insta-
bility, in an admittedly ad hoc manner. By adapting this
reasoningto a porous medium, one can argue that double-
diffusivefingerswill form at an originally sharpinterfacewhen
-•AT/•AS < (KT/Ks)3/2
Here AT and AS are the temperature and salinity increases
acrossthe interface.(Note that • < 0, so that •A T/fiAS < 0.)
portant in some situations.The computedgrowth rates and
finger widths are suchthat slow time and spacevariationsin
the base state, and grain size of the medium, will not easily
influencethe fingers.It is still unclear to what extent the seem-
ingly close analogy between soil fingers and oceanic salt
fingers can be pursued. For example, density-drivenconvec-
tive mixing of groundwater is probably much less energetic
than that of ocean water, so that layering may not occur as
readily. Thus modelsbasedon well-mixedlayersseparatedby
a thin, fingeringregionmay not apply. On the other hand, the
internal-wave motions which can act to limit the vertical
length of salt fingersare not likely to be presentin groundwa-
ter.

Now considerviscousfingers.Sincethe fluid is the same on Horizontal dispersionmay well be the primary limit on the
both sides of the interface, interfacial tension is neglected.vertical coherence of double-diffusive fingers. The effect of
Then the criterion for viscousfingeringfor an interfaceat restsuch dispersion can be roughly estimated. For a Peclet
is 0•AT + BAS > 0, or -o•AT/fiAS < 1 [-Saffmanand Taylor, number of around 1 or greaterthe dispersioncoefficienttrans-
1958]. This simply saysthat the upper fluid is heavierthan theverseto the mean flow is found to be D • v•d/10,where v• is
lower fluid. the seepagevelocity w'/a and d is the (granular) porous
However, double-diffusivefingering is only possiblewhen medium particle diameter [List and Brooks, 1967]. The time
Kr/Ks > 1. In any such situation, as AS is slowly increased for salt to mix to the core of an upward moving finger (thus
from zero with AT fixed, double-diffusivefingeringwill occur destroyingthe finger's identity and greatly diminishingits
first. This comparisonis rather qualitative because,for exam- buoyancy) is [ • r2/D,wherer is thefingerhalfwidth.In this
ple, diffusionis neglectedin the Saffman-Taylormodel. How- timethefluidin thefingertravelsa distance L •,,•. œ.Then
ever, since Kr >>Ks in most circumstances,it seems that fingersshould remain coherentfor a vertical distanceof the
double-Oiffusivefingering is more likely to occur, especially order of L • 10r•/d, and the finger aspectratio shouldbe
along interfacesat rest.Nonetheless,effortsto provide a soun- about L/2r • 5r/d. The resultsgiven above suggestthat r >>d,
der basis for comparing the two phenomena are certainly in so that the fingers can be quite slender,in accord with the
order. model.
In a similar vein, one can ask how the growth rates studied This simpleestimateneedsimproving,along with the entire
in this paper changewhen 0•becomessmall. Now R < 1, and model. But it can inspire cautiousoptimism about the impor-
the situation is gravitationally unstable.Consider the limiting tance of double-diffusivefingering in porous media. Experi-
case0•= 0. Here the heat conductionequationalecouples from mental testing of the above analysisand resultsto guide fur-
the other two of equations (1). When w is eliminated from ther analyticalprogressseemvery much in order. As with salt
thesetwo equations,and the sametypesof solutionsassumed fingers,the completephenomenonis probably not amenable
as before, we find to analytical treatment, and satisfactorymodels need experi-
mental evidenceas support. Such experimentsappear more
difficult than with salt fingersbecauseof the lack of straight-
,•+-•- ,,t+ Ks
m2)
= forward flow visualizationtechniques.Hele-Shawexperiments
This givesa maximumgrowth rate '•mat rn = 0, whichis would certainlyseemto be calledfor, at least for preliminary
results.Suchexperimentshave beencarriedout on the closely
2•mk=1+ - 1 analogouscasewhere the upper fluid is colder and lesssalty
O'V O'2V
2 J than the lower fluid [Griffiths, 1981].

Thus the model is missingsomeingredientwhich would serve REFERENCES

to prescribea finite wave number for maximum growth. (This
is reminiscentof a similar situation in viscousfingering insta-
bility theory, when interfacial tension is neglected.)Calcula-
tions made using equation (3) and very small R bear this
behavior out in the more general case where • is small but
finite.
Becauseof this deficiencythe simple model used in this
paper, which has beenrelatively fruitful when usedto describe
double diffusion in water and which seems reasonable for de-
scribingsimilar effectsin groundwater, does not seem appro-
priate for gravitationallyunstablesituations.Consideringthe
theoreticalcomplicationsassociatedwith finite amplitude vis-
cous fingering (see,for example, Wooding [1969]), this is not
surprising.However, it does underscorethe need for a more
unified treatment of viscousand double-diffusivefingering.
It seems quite likely that the vertical transport of near-
surface,dissolvedsubstancesin groundwaterwhich is associ-
ated with the double-diffusiveprocessof fingeringcan be im-
Combarnous,M., and S. Bories, Hydrothermal convectionin satu-
rated porousmedia, Adv. Hydrosci.,10, 232-307, 1975.
Griffiths, R. W., Layered double-diffusiveconvectionin porousmedia,
J. Fluid Mech., 102, 221-248, 1981.
Huppert, H. E., and P. C. Manins, Limiting conditions for salt-
fingeringat an interface,Deep Sea Res.,20, 315-323, 1973.
Lapwood, E. R., Convection of a fluid in a porous medium, Proc.
CambridgePhilos.Soc.,44, 508-521, 1948.
List, E. J., and N.H. Brooks, Lateral dispersionin saturatedporous
media,J. Geophys.Res.,72, 2531-2541, 1967.
Rubin, H., and C. Roth, On the growth of instabilitiesin groundwater
due to temperature and salinity gradients,Adv. Water Resour.,2,
69-76, 1979.
SalTman,P. G., and G.I. Taylor, The penetration of a fluid into a
porous medium or Hele-Shaw cell containing a more viscous
liquid, Proc. R. Soc.London,Ser A, 245, 312-329, 1958.
Schmitt,R. W., The growth rate of super-criticalsalt fingers,Deep Sea
Res., 26A, 23-40, 1979.
Stern, M. E., Ocean Circulation Physics, 246 pp., Academic, New
York, 1975.
Taunton, J. W., E. N. Lightfoot, and T. Green, Thermohaline insta-
 GREEN: DOUBLE-DIFFUSIVE FINGERING 1229

bility and salt fingersin a porous medium, Phys. Fluids, 15, 748-
T. Green, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
753, 1972.
University of Wisconsin-Madison,1269 EngineeringBuilding, 1415
Turner,J. S.,Buoyancy
Effectsin Fluids,367 pp.,CambridgeUniver- Johnson Drive, Madison WI 53706.
sity Press,New York, 1973.
Wooding,R. A., Growth of fingersat an unstablediffusinginterfacein
a porous medium or Hele-Shaw cell, J. Fluid Mech., 39, 477-495,
1969. (ReceivedAugust25, 1983;
Wooding, R. A., and H. J. Morel-Seytoux,Multiphase fluid flow revisedMay 10, 1984;
throughporousmedia,Annu.Rev.Fluid Mech.,8, 233-274, 1976. acceptedMay 31, 1984.)