Thermodynamics of Morphogenesis: Beading and Branching Pattern Formation in Diffusion-Driven Salt Finger Plumes
Spontaneous pattern formation is a universal phenomenon that occurs in purely physical systems, biology, and human societies. Salt fingering due to differential diffusion of heat and salt in seawater is a typical example, although the general principle that governs pattern formation remains unknown....
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2025-01-01
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| author | Hisashi Ozawa Sayaka Murayama-Ogino Axel Kleidon |
| author_facet | Hisashi Ozawa Sayaka Murayama-Ogino Axel Kleidon |
| author_sort | Hisashi Ozawa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Spontaneous pattern formation is a universal phenomenon that occurs in purely physical systems, biology, and human societies. Salt fingering due to differential diffusion of heat and salt in seawater is a typical example, although the general principle that governs pattern formation remains unknown. We show through simple experiments injecting a salt solution into a sucrose solution of equal density that a salt finger exhibits characteristic pattern transitions depending on the injection flow rate. When the rate increases, a linear finger starts meandering, branching, and multiple branching, whereas when the rate is decreased, it produces a beading pattern. These morphological instabilities and associated pattern formation are caused by a local accumulation of kinetic energy that minimizes the flow resistance and maximizes the energy dissipation in the final steady state. We suggest that this energy accumulation mechanism governs a wide variety of pattern formation phenomena in non-equilibrium systems, including morphogenesis of abiotic protocells. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-73fde1ceabf3414182a15d91d5090fe5 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1099-4300 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| spelling | doaj-art-73fde1ceabf3414182a15d91d5090fe52025-08-20T03:12:08ZengMDPI AGEntropy1099-43002025-01-0127210610.3390/e27020106Thermodynamics of Morphogenesis: Beading and Branching Pattern Formation in Diffusion-Driven Salt Finger PlumesHisashi Ozawa0Sayaka Murayama-Ogino1Axel Kleidon2Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima 739-8521, JapanSchool of Integrated Arts and Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima 739-8521, JapanMax Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, 07701 Jena, GermanySpontaneous pattern formation is a universal phenomenon that occurs in purely physical systems, biology, and human societies. Salt fingering due to differential diffusion of heat and salt in seawater is a typical example, although the general principle that governs pattern formation remains unknown. We show through simple experiments injecting a salt solution into a sucrose solution of equal density that a salt finger exhibits characteristic pattern transitions depending on the injection flow rate. When the rate increases, a linear finger starts meandering, branching, and multiple branching, whereas when the rate is decreased, it produces a beading pattern. These morphological instabilities and associated pattern formation are caused by a local accumulation of kinetic energy that minimizes the flow resistance and maximizes the energy dissipation in the final steady state. We suggest that this energy accumulation mechanism governs a wide variety of pattern formation phenomena in non-equilibrium systems, including morphogenesis of abiotic protocells.https://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/27/2/106thermodynamicspattern formationenergy accumulationenergy dissipationnon-equilibrium systemsmorphogenesis |
| spellingShingle | Hisashi Ozawa Sayaka Murayama-Ogino Axel Kleidon Thermodynamics of Morphogenesis: Beading and Branching Pattern Formation in Diffusion-Driven Salt Finger Plumes Entropy thermodynamics pattern formation energy accumulation energy dissipation non-equilibrium systems morphogenesis |
| title | Thermodynamics of Morphogenesis: Beading and Branching Pattern Formation in Diffusion-Driven Salt Finger Plumes |
| title_full | Thermodynamics of Morphogenesis: Beading and Branching Pattern Formation in Diffusion-Driven Salt Finger Plumes |
| title_fullStr | Thermodynamics of Morphogenesis: Beading and Branching Pattern Formation in Diffusion-Driven Salt Finger Plumes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Thermodynamics of Morphogenesis: Beading and Branching Pattern Formation in Diffusion-Driven Salt Finger Plumes |
| title_short | Thermodynamics of Morphogenesis: Beading and Branching Pattern Formation in Diffusion-Driven Salt Finger Plumes |
| title_sort | thermodynamics of morphogenesis beading and branching pattern formation in diffusion driven salt finger plumes |
| topic | thermodynamics pattern formation energy accumulation energy dissipation non-equilibrium systems morphogenesis |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/27/2/106 |
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