Characteristics of quasistationary near-wall turbulence subjected to strong stable stratification in open-channel flows

Turbulent open channel-flow under strongly stable thermal stratification is investigated. It is shown that the dominant effects of strong stable stratification on the characteristics of near-wall turbulence are transient. The budget of turbulent kinetic energy, the budget for the tangential Reynolds stress, and the relevant length scales are discussed. It is shown that near-wall turbulence at quasistationarity is approximately insensitive to the choice of upper thermal boundary condition.