Role of partial stable stratification on fluid flow and heat transfer in rotating thermal convection

Abstract

The liquid iron core of the Earth undergoes vigorous convection driven by thermal and compositional buoyancy. The dynamics of convective fluid motions and heat transfer in such conditions are determined by background rotation, geometrical symmetry, and thermal interactions across the boundaries. In this study, rotating thermal convection in a horizontal fluid layer is considered to understand the fluid flow characteristics in the Earth's outer core focusing on the regions close to the rotational axis. The effects of a partial stable stratification on fluid flow and heat transfer are investigated to ascertain the physical significance of thermal core–mantle interaction on geomagnetic field generation driven by core fluid motion. It is found that even with non-linear evolution, convective instabilities retain the fundamental characteristics of linear onset modes. Mildly supercritical regimes lead to near laminar flows with the transition to turbulent convection occurring for strongly driven convection around 50–100 times enhanced buoyancy. Axial symmetry breaking and preferential damping of small-scale vortical structures are the hallmark of penetrative convection. Rapid rotation sustains small-scale helical flows in stable regions, a necessary ingredient for the sustenance of Earthlike dipolar magnetic fields. Coherent flow structures for strongly turbulent convection are obtained using reduced-order modeling. The overall total heat transfer is suppressed (up to 25%) due to the stable stratification although convective efficiency is enhanced (up to 30%) in the unstable regions favored by rapid rotation. Flow suppression is overcome under strong buoyancy forces, a relevant dynamical regime for deep-seated dynamo action in the Earth's core.