Double-diffusive translation of Earth's inner core

International audienceThe hemispherical asymmetry of the inner core has been interpreted as resulting from a high-viscosity mode of inner core convection, consisting in a translation of the inner core. A thermally driven translation, as originally proposed, is unlikely if the currently favoured high values of the thermal conductivity of iron at core conditions are correct. We consider here the possibility that inner core translation results from an unstable compositional gradient, which would develop either because the light elements present in the core become increasingly incompatible as the inner core grows, or because of a possibly positive feedback of the development of the F-layer on inner core convection. Though themagnitude of the destabilizing effect of the compositional field is predicted to be similar to or smaller than the stabilizing effect of the thermal field, the huge difference between thermal and chemical diffusivities implies that double-diffusive instabilities can still arise even if the net buoyancy increases upward. Using linear stability analysis and numerical simulations, we demonstrate that a translation mode can indeed exist if the compositional field is destabilizing, even if the temperature profile is subadiabatic, and irrespectively of the relative magnitudes of the composition and potential temperature gradients. The existence of this double diffusive mode of translation requires that the following conditions are met: (i) the compositional profile within the inner core is destabilizing, and remains so for a duration longer than the destabilization timescale (on the order of 200 Myr, but strongly dependent on the magnitude of the initial perturbation); and (ii) the inner core viscosity is sufficiently large, the required value being a strongly increasing function of the inner core size (e. g. 10(17) Pa s when the inner core was 200 km in radius, and similar or equal to 3 x 10(21) Pa s at the current inner core size). If these conditions are met, the predicted inner core translation rate is found to be similar to the inner core growth rate, which is more consistent with inferences from the geomagnetic field morphology and secular variation than the higher translation rate predicted for a thermally driven translation

Rapidly rotating spherical Couette flow in a dipolar magnetic field : an experimental study of the mean axisymmetric flow

In order to explore the magnetostrophic regime expected for planetary cores, experiments have been conducted in a rotating sphere filled with liquid sodium, with an imposed dipolar magnetic field (the DTS setup). The field is produced by a permanent magnet enclosed in an inner sphere, which can rotate at a separate rate, producing a spherical Couette flow. The flow properties are investigated by measuring electric potentials on the outer sphere, the induced magnetic field in the laboratory frame, and velocity profiles inside the liquid sodium using ultrasonic Doppler velocimetry. The present article focuses on the time-averaged axisymmetric part of the flow. The Doppler profiles show that the angular velocity of the fluid is relatively uniform in most of the fluid shell, but rises near the inner sphere, revealing the presence of a magnetic wind, and gently drops towards the outer sphere. The transition from a magnetostrophic flow near the inner sphere to a geostrophic flow near the outer sphere is controlled by the local Elsasser number. For Rossby numbers up to order 1, the observed velocity profiles all show a similar shape. Numerical simulations in the linear regime are computed, and synthetic velocity profiles are compared with the measured ones. In the geostrophic region, a torque-balance model provides very good predictions. We find that the induced magnetic field varies in a consistent fashion, and displays a peculiar peak in the counter-rotating regime. This happens when the fluid rotation rate is almost equal and opposite to the outer sphere rotation rate. The fluid is then almost at rest in the laboratory frame, and the Proudman-Taylor constraint vanishes, enabling a strong meridional flow. We suggest that dynamo action might be favored in such a situation

Thermoelectric MHD as a tool to act on solidification

Communication to : International Conference 'Energy Transfer la Magnetohydrodynamic Flews', Grenoble, CEN/Cadarache du 30 septembre au 4 octobre, 1991SIGLEAvailable at INIST (FR), Document Supply Service, under shelf-number : RM 1404 / INIST-CNRS - Institut de l'Information Scientifique et TechniqueFRFranc

Effect of a transverse magnetic field on solidification structure in directionally solidified Al-Cu-Ag ternary alloys

International audienceThe effect of a transverse magnetic field on solidification structure in directionally solidified Al-Cu-Ag ternary alloys was investigated experimentally. The results show that the application of the transverse magnetic field significantly modified the solidification structures. Indeed, the magnetic field caused the formation of macrosegregation and the transformation of the liquid/solid interface from cellular to planar. Moreover, it was found that the magnetic field refined the eutectic cell and decreased the mushy zone length. This may be attributed to the thermoelectric magnetic convection between eutectic cells

Core Processes: Earth's eccentric magnetic field

Earth's magnetic field is characterized by a puzzling hemispheric asymmetry. Calculations of core dynamo processes suggest that lopsided growth of the planet's inner core may be part of the cause