On the peculiar nature of turbulence in planetary dynamos

Henri-Claude Nataf (1) , Nadège Gagnière (1)

1 LGIT - Laboratoire de Géophysique Interne et Tectonophysique

Under the combined constraints of rapid rotation, sphericity, and magnetic field, motions in planetary cores get organized in a peculiar way. Classical hydrodynamic turbulence is not present, but turbulent motions can take place under the action of the buoyancy and Laplace forces. Laboratory experiments, such as the rotating spherical magnetic Couette DTS experiment in Grenoble, help us understand what motions take place in planetary core conditions.

Mots clés: Dynamo; Planetary core; DTS; spherical Couette

Domaines: Géophysique [physics.geo-ph]; Géophysique [physics.geo-ph]; Milieux et Changements globaux; Dynamique des Fluides [physics.flu-dyn]

Henri-Claude Nataf, Nadège Gagnière. On the peculiar nature of turbulence in planetary dynamos. Comptes Rendus. Physique, 2008, 9 (7), pp.702-710. ⟨10.1016/j.crhy.2008.07.009⟩. ⟨insu-00278365v2⟩