Kinetic energy cascades in quasi-geostrophic convection in a spherical shell

TL;DR

This paper investigates the mechanisms of kinetic energy transfer in quasi-geostrophic convection within a spherical shell, focusing on triadic interactions, Rossby wave excitation, and comparing spherical and Cartesian geometries.

Contribution

It provides new insights into mode interactions and energy transfer schemes specific to spherical geometries in quasi-geostrophic convection.

Findings

Identification of triadic nonlinear interactions in spherical shells

Analysis of Rossby wave excitation effects

Comparison of energy transfer in spherical vs. Cartesian geometries

Abstract

We consider triadic nonlinear interaction in the Navier-Stokes equation for quasi-geostrophic convection in a spherical shell. This approach helps understanding the origin of kinetic energy transport in the system and the particular scheme of mode interaction, as well as the locality of the energy transfer. The peculiarity of convection in the sphere, concerned with excitation of Rossby waves, is considered. The obtained results are compared with our previous study in Cartesian geometry.