Final answer:
Turbulent mixing is the process where atmospheric layers mix to create a uniform temperature through eddies and swirls. It's influenced by factors like obstructions, high speeds, and viscosity. Thermal pollution can result when such mixing involves the discharge of heated water into a cooler environment.
Step-by-step explanation:
Turbulent mixing in the atmosphere refers to a type of fluid flow where layers of air mix together through the formation of eddies and swirls. This process is a consequence of factors such as obstructions, high speeds, and differential drag between adjacent layers of the atmosphere and its interface with obstructions. Within our planet's turbulent atmosphere, small-scale 'cells' or blobs of gas of slightly different temperatures mix and this interaction leads to a more uniform temperature. The turbulence bends the path of light through refraction, causing what astronomers observe as a 'twinkling' of stars due to the constant motion of these air cells.
Viscosity, which is a measure of the internal friction in a fluid, plays a role in turbulence by influencing how easily these eddies and swirls can form and maintain themselves. Fluids with different viscosities exhibit different resistance to turbulent flow.
In the context of environmental science, one of the consequences of turbulent mixing is thermal pollution, particularly when heated water from industrial processes is released into a cooler body of water, leading to turbulence and a mixed temperature distribution.