Tyler, Robert H. and Sanford, Thomas B. (1998) Electromagnetic forces on the earth's core due to the poleward transport of heat in the oceans. Geophysical and Astrophysical Fluid Dynamics, 88 . pp. 15-129. DOI 10.1080/03091929808245470.

Text Tyler.pdf - Published Version Restricted to Registered users only Download (646kB) | Contact

Abstract

Poleward heat transport in the oceans generate global-scale electric currents and associated Lorentz forces in the Earth's core. We make a first estimate of this effect using a simple zonally averaged model from which we obtain analytical/numerical solutions. The results indicate that the poleward heat transport in the presence of Main field reversals having periods of 10,000 to 10 million years lead to large-scale electric currents in the core of order 10-11 to 10-13 A/m2 which although extremely small, imply poleward forces in the core which are likely to have acted systematically throughout the history of the planet.

Actions (login required)

View Item