The effects of rotation on a double-diffusive layer in a rotating spherical shell

TL;DR

This study investigates how rotation influences double-diffusive layers in a spherical shell, revealing that fast rotation stabilizes convection and affects heat and salt transport, with implications for planetary interior modeling.

Contribution

First numerical analysis of rotation effects on double-diffusive convection in a spherical shell, extending existing models and regimes to include rotation and stability ratio influences.

Findings

Fast rotation stabilizes convective flux similarly to increased stability ratio.

Rotation decreases convective transport further in double-diffusive regimes.

Spruit's model best fits the observed data.

Abstract

So far, numerical studies of double-diffusive layering in turbulent convective flows have neglected the effects of rotation. We undertake a first step into that direction by investigating how Coriolis forces affect a double-diffusive layer inside a rotating spherical shell. For this purpose we have run simulations in a parameter regime where these layers are expected to form and successively increased the rate of rotation with the result that fast rotation is found to have a similar stabilising effect on the overall convective flux as an increase of the stability ratio $R_{\rho}$ has in a non-rotating setup. We have also studied to what extent the regimes of rotational constraints suggested by King, Stellmach, and Buffett (2013) for rotation in the case of Rayleigh-B\'enard convection are influenced by double-diffusive convection: their classification could also be applicable to the case of double-diffusive convection in a spherical shell if it is extended to be also a function of the stability ratio $R_{\rho}$. Furthermore, we examined the ratio of saline and thermal Nusselt numbers and compared our results with models of Spruit (2013), Rosenblum et al. (2011) and Wood, Garaud, and Stellmach (2013). We find our data to be fitted best by Spruit's model. Our result that fast rotation further decreases the convective transport, which is already lowered by double-diffusive convection, could play a major role for e.g. the modeling of the interior of some rapidly rotating giant planets, as gaseous giant planets have recently been proposed to be influenced by double-diffusive convection.