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Parameterized rotating convection for core and planetary atmosphere dynamics
Author(s) -
Zhang Keke
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/91gl00137
Subject(s) - convection , prandtl number , physics , mechanics , planet , atmosphere (unit) , thermal , instability , nonlinear system , convection cell , convective instability , geophysics , natural convection , combined forced and natural convection , meteorology , astrophysics , quantum mechanics
New types of convective instability and associated nonlinear phenomena in rapidly rotating spherical systems have been discovered through numerical simulations. The Prandtl number, defined as the ratio of the viscous and thermal diffusivities of a fluid, P r = ν/ k , plays a crucial role in determining the fundamental features of both the instabilities and the corresponding nonlinear convection. The results shed new light on regimes of convection in the earth's core and the atmospheres of the major planets.