NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Collections About News Help Login
Back to Results
The Effect of Surface Topography on the Nonlinear Dynamics of Rossby WavesBoussinesq convection in rotating systems attracts a sustained attention of the fluid dynamics community, because it has intricate non-linear dynamics (Cross & Hohenberg 1993) and plays an important role in geophysical and astrophysical applications, such as the motion of the liquid outer core of Earth, the Red Spot in Jupiter, the giant cells in the Sun etc. (Alridge et al. 1990). A fundamental distinction between the real geo- and astrophysical problems and the idealized laboratory studies is that natural systems are inhomogeneous (Alridge et al. 1990). Heterogeneities modulate the flow and influence significantly the dynamics of convective patterns (Alridge et al. 1990; Hide 1971). The effect of modulations on pattern formation and transition to turbulence in Boussinesq convection is far from being completely understood (Cross & Hohenberg 1993; Aranson & Kramer 2002). It is generally accepted that in the liquid outer core of the Earth the transport of the angular momentum and internal heat occurs via thermal Rossby waves (Zhang et al. 2001; Kuang & Bloxham 1999). These waves been visualized in laboratory experiments in rotating liquid-filled spheres and concentric spherical shells (Zhang et al. 2001; Kuang & Bloxham 1999). The basic dynamical features of Rossby waves have been reproduced in a cylindrical annulus, a system much simpler than the spherical ones (Busse & Or 1986; Or & Busse 1987). For convection in a cylindrical annulus, the fluid motion is two-dimensional, and gravity is replaced by a centrifugal force, (Busse & Or 1986; Or & Busse 1987). Hide (1971) has suggested that the momentum and heat transport in the core might be influenced significantly by so-called bumps, which are heterogeneities on the mantle-core boundary. To model the effect of surface topography on the transport of momentum and energy in the liquid outer core of the Earth, Bell & Soward (1996), Herrmann & Busse (1998) and Westerburg & Busse (2001) have studied the nonlinear dynamics of thermal Rossby waves in a cylindrical annulus with azimuthally modulated height.
Document ID
20040031692
Acquisition Source
Headquarters
Document Type
Other
Authors
Abarzhi, S. I. (Stanford Univ. Stanford, CA, United States)
Desjardins, O. (Stanford Univ. Stanford, CA, United States)
Pitsch, H. (Stanford Univ. Stanford, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
September 7, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2003
Publication Information
Publication: Center for Turbulence Research Annual Research Briefs 2003
Subject Category
Astrophysics
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NCC2-1371
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

Related Records

There are no records associated with this record.
No Preview Available