Convection in rotating non-uniformly stratified spherical fluid shells: a systematic parameter study

0332510 - GFÚ 2010 RIV SK eng J - Journal Article
Šimkanin, Ján - Hejda, Pavel - Jankovičová, Dana
Convection in rotating non-uniformly stratified spherical fluid shells: a systematic parameter study.
Contributions to Geophysics & Geodesy. Roč. 39, č. 3 (2009), s. 207-220. ISSN 1335-2806
R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA300120704
Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z30120515; CEZ:AV0Z30420517
Keywords : rotating convection * non-uniform stratification * control volume method * multilayer convection
Subject RIV: DE - Earth Magnetism, Geodesy, Geography

A systematic parameter study of rotating convection in non-uniformly stratified spherical shells in dependence on the Prandtl number, Ekman number and Rayleigh number is presented. Attention is focused on the case, in which the thickness of both sublayers (stable and unstable) is the same (which was not investigated before). In our case the convection is not suppressed in the stably stratified region but, it is developed in both sublayers. Cases of small and large Prandtl numbers are characterized by the creation of multilayer convective structures. Convective motions take place simultaneously in the stable and unstable layers and form a multilayer structure. On the other hand, it is not possible to observe any multilayer convection for Prandtl number equal to one but it is possible to observe the small-scale structures. A conclusion is that our case is similar to the case in which the thickness of unstable sublayer is greater than that of stable one.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0177756