Unconfined lock-exchange gravity currents with variable lock width: laboratory experiments and shallow-water simulations

The dynamics of unconfined gravity currents generated by a lock-exchange with different lock widths is considered. The gravity currents were generated by density differences caused by a salinity gradient and were realized both numerically and experimentally. Several runs were carried out in order to study the role played by the lock width in the current dynamics. Numerical simulations were performed with a new single-layer, 2D, shallow-water...