Effect of viscosity distribution on parameters of the near-bottom density current

The solution of the problem of how to find the vertical distribution of the mean flowspeed of the near-bottom current propagating along a sloping bottom in a nonmoving lighter liquid is presented for the case where the viscosity is a function of the vertical coordinate, and also for the case where the viscosity remains constant throughout the depth of the liquid. It is shown that depth variation of the viscosity must be taken into account in studying near-bottom currents whose density exceeds the density of the above-lying liquid by more than 5•1О^{-3}g/cm^3, since this change exerts a pronounced effect on the shape of the velocity profile. But if the density difference is less than that figure, the viscosity can be treated as constant in calculating the flow parameters.