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Mixing the Earth's mantle by thermal convection: A scale dependent phenomenon
Author(s) -
Schmalzl Jörg,
Hansen Ulrich
Publication year - 1994
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 - 10.1029/94gl00049
Subject(s) - mixing (physics) , prandtl number , convection , convective mixing , mechanics , flow (mathematics) , geophysics , geology , tracer , thermal , rayleigh scattering , rayleigh number , mantle (geology) , physics , thermodynamics , materials science , natural convection , optics , quantum mechanics , nuclear physics
We have investigated the mixing properties of 2D Rayleigh Bénard convection in infinite Prandtl number flows. The mixing properties were monitored by injecting tracer particles into previously calculated flow fields. A particle correlation function H(r) and the corresponding correlation dimension have been used to characterize the mixing efficiency of the flow as function of its vigor and it's structure. We demonstrate that the chosen method captures the mixing process in a detailed manner. Our study suggests that mixing properties of the flow depend on the spatial scale. At Rayleighnumbers 10 6 < Ra < 10 8 heterogeneities within one circulation cell are destroyed rapidly while two adjacent cells can remain unmixed substantially longer.