Long-term persistence of the spatial organization of temperature fluctuation lifetime in turbulent air avalanches

It has been recently proposed that some natural phenomena, such as sunspot occurrence, can be represented by a modulated Markov jitter, which is a high-frequency Markov signal multiplied by a long-term component. The two parameters of this model can be estimated using a nonlinear method based on absolute derivatives. This analysis is applied here to a different physical system: the temperature time series measured during air avalanches in the vertical access pit of an underground quarry. The thermal fluctuations associated with these turbulent flows, driven by the external temperature forcing, actually appear as another practical realization of a modulated Markov jitter. One parameter of the model provides the lifetime of the temperature fluctuations, which can be estimated as a function of time and position. The obtained lifetime is of the order of 10 to 25 min , and is remarkably constant in time for each sensor, independently of the amplitude of the forcing. Furthermore, a significant and persistent spatial structure is observed, revealing a long-term intrinsic organization of the turbulent air flows in the pit. Such a stable spatial organization may reflect a general feature of turbulent phenomena.