Related papers: Water Movement in Vascular Plants: A Primer
One of the physically least understood characteristics of geophysical transport of sediments along sediment surfaces is the well known experimental observation that the sediment transport rate $Q$ is linearly dependent on the fluid shear…
Double-diffusive instabilities are often invoked to explain enhanced transport in stably-stratified fluids. The most-studied natural manifestation of this process, fingering convection, commonly occurs in the ocean's thermocline and…
Communities of swimming microorganisms often thrive near liquid-air interfaces. We study how such `active carpets' shape their aquatic environment by driving biogenic transport in the water column beneath them. The hydrodynamic stirring…
Vegetation in semi-arid environments self-organizes into striking spatial patterns -- bands, spots, labyrinths, and gaps -- with characteristic wavelengths on the order of tens to hundreds of meters. Existing reaction-diffusion models…
Results from recent space missions, in particular Spitzer and Herschel, have lead to significant progress in our understanding of the formation and transport of water from clouds to disks, planetesimals, and planets. In this review, we…
Understanding how submerged vegetation modifies the water surface is crucial for modeling momentum exchange between shallow waters and the atmosphere. In particular, quantifying its impact on the equivalent aerodynamic roughness of the…
In the fluid transport of particles, it is generally expected that heavy particles carried by a laminar fluid flow moving downward will also move downward. We establish a theory to show, however, that particles can be dynamically levitated…
Plant-soil feedback is recognized as a causal mechanism for the emergence of vegetation patterns of the same species especially when water is not a limiting resource (e.g. humid environments). Nevertheless, in the field, plants rarely grow…
We model evolution of plants in a world, made up of different locations, with multiple environments (mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive subsets of locations). Each environment (landmass) has temperature, rainfall, and other…
The principles underlying plant development are extended to allow a more molecular mechanism to elaborate the schema by which ground cells differentiate into vascular cells. Biophysical considerations dictate that linear dynamics are not…
The dispersion of plant pathogens, such as rust spores, is responsible for more than 20% of global yield loss annually, and poses a significant threat to human health. However, the release mechanics of pathogens from flexible plant surfaces…
These are notes that I compiled while studying the equations of long-range groundwater flow for my first paper. By "long-range," I mean horizontal distances that are significantly greater than the vertical thickness of the aquifer, in…
Liquid diodes are surface structures that facilitate the flow of liquids in a specific direction. When these structures are within the capillary regime, they promote liquid transport without the need for external forces. In nature, they are…
Water is essential for the activity of proteins. However, the effect of the properties of water on the behavior of proteins is only partially understood. Recently, several experiments have investigated the relation between the dynamics of…
The continental plates of Earth are known to drift over a geophysical timescale, and their interactions have lead to some of the most spectacular geoformations of our planet while also causing natural disasters such as earthquakes and…
Basic physical principles are considered that are responsible for the origin of dynamic air flow upon condensation of water vapor, the partial pressure of which represents a store of potential energy in the atmosphere of Earth. Quantitative…
One might ask why is it important to know the mechanism of fracture in leaves when Mother Nature is doing her job perfectly. I could list the following reasons to address that question: (a) Leaves are natural composite structures, during…
The goal of this note is to provide a theoretical explanation for the saturation of the drag coefficient in strong wind conditions. The hydrodynamic model under consideration takes into account the important effects of airborne droplets of…
A hydrophilic liquid, such as water, forms hydrogen bonds with a hydrophilic substrate. The strength and locality of the hydrogen bonding interactions prohibit slip of the liquid over the substrate. The question then arises how the contact…
The water uptake by roots of plants is examined for an ideal situation, with an approximation that resembles plants growing in pots, meaning that the total soil volume is fixed. We propose a coupled water uptake-root growth model. A…