Experiments on the oscillatory behavior of axisymmetric buoyant plumes of helium and helium‐air mixtures are reported for a range of nozzle diameters (3.6 cm<d<20 cm), source velocities, and plume densities. Measurements include pulsation frequencies as determined from total pressure fluctuations along the plume centerline in addition to the phase resolved laser Doppler velocity measurements. These nonreacting buoyant plumes are found to exhibit periodic oscillations of plume boundaries which subsequently evolve into toroidal vortices within one‐half diameter above the nozzle exit. These oscillations and vortices are similar to those observed in pool fires, although their frequency scaling is somewhat different. The frequency relationship is well represented by the expressionS=0.8Ri0.381, where the Strouhal number isS=fd/V0and the Richardson number is defined as Ri1=[(&rgr;∞−&rgr;p)gd]/&rgr;∞V20. Parametersf, V0, &rgr; are frequency, source velocity, and density and subscriptspand ∞ refer to the plume fluid and ambient, respectively. Between Ri1=100 and 500, a transition in the frequency scaling is observed as evidenced by more turbulent and vigorously mixing plumes beyond this transition. In this region,S=2.1Ri0.281. This change in scaling can be explained by the effect of turbulent mixing on local plume density and the resulting modification of the convection speed of the toroidal vortices. These results provide a consistent basis for the mechanism of the observed instability which is quite different than other types of flow instabilities. Additionally, the phase resolved velocity field of a pulsating buoyant plume reveals a strong buoyant acceleration along the plume centerline followed by a deceleration in the region of the toroidal vortex formation. The strong upward acceleration is also accompanied by significant radial inflow toward the plume centerline determining the entrainment characteristics of these pulsating buoyant plumes. ©1996 American Institute of Physics.