Statistics of Transport in the Vicinity of Lagrangian Coherent Structures

Abstract. Transport properties of magnetic fluctuations, in particular the role of Lagrangian Coherent Structures, are investigated from a statistical point of view in a sheared magnetic field. It is shown that field lines escape a tube (jet) over a finite length which is independent of tube size. However this escape length is not uniform in a chaotic sea, and in particular is minimum (indicating maximal transport) in the vicinity of Lagrangian Coherent Structures. Combined with the fact that LCS are not fixed but vary in time and with the velocities of particles, this could reduce their effectiveness as transport barriers in cases where other transport processes exist.