Diffusion‐Free Scaling in Rotating Spherical Rayleigh‐Bénard Convection

Abstract Direct numerical simulations are employed to reveal three distinctly different flow regions in rotating spherical Rayleigh‐Bénard convection. In the high‐latitude region I vertical (parallel to the axis of rotation) convective columns are generated between the hot inner and the cold outer s...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Guiquan Wang, Luca Santelli, Detlef Lohse, Roberto Verzicco, Richard J. A. M. Stevens
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2021-10-01
Series:Geophysical Research Letters
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL095017
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Summary:Abstract Direct numerical simulations are employed to reveal three distinctly different flow regions in rotating spherical Rayleigh‐Bénard convection. In the high‐latitude region I vertical (parallel to the axis of rotation) convective columns are generated between the hot inner and the cold outer sphere. The mid‐latitude region II is dominated by vertically aligned convective columns formed between the Northern and Southern hemispheres of the outer sphere. The diffusion‐free scaling, which indicates bulk‐dominated convection, originates from this mid‐latitude region. In the equator region III, the vortices are affected by the outer spherical boundary and are much shorter than in region II.
ISSN:0094-8276
1944-8007