Numerical modelling of planetary dynamos

Details Numerical modelling of planetary dynamos Numerical modelling of planetary dynamos

Apr 2003

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2003eaeja.....6712s&link_type=abstract

EGS - AGU - EUG Joint Assembly, Abstracts from the meeting held in Nice, France, 6 - 11 April 2003, abstract #6712

Physics

Scientific paper

Solar system exploration has revealed a large variety of planetary magnetic fields. Dynamo action is occurring in Earth, Jupiter and Saturn where it produces axially dipolar dominated magnetic fields, and in Uranus and Neptune where it generates non-dipolar, non-axisymmetric fields. Additionally, Galileo data suggests some of Jupiter's moons may have intrinsic or induced magnetic fields. Mars and the Moon possess remnant magnetic fields most likely from dynamo action in their past, while the currently available data for Mercury are insufficient to distinguish between dynamo action and a remnant field; the MESSENGER mission hopes to answer this question. Numerical dynamo modelling is an important tool in studying planetary magnetic fields. It allows us to study a magnetic field's evolution in time, as well as the dependence of field configuration on a planet's interior structure. Here we use 3D numerical dynamo modelling to study the dependence of field morphology on fluid shell thickness, inner core conductivity, Rayleigh number and the presence of stably stratified regions. We examine what determines whether dipolar or non-dipolar fields result. We also look at whether Mercury's interior structure can sustain a dynamo and the circumstances under which a dynamo may become extinct.

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