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Magnetic reversals from planetary dynamo waves

Nature volume 539, pages 551–554 (2016)Cite this article

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Abstract

A striking feature of many natural dynamos is their ability to undergo polarity reversals1,2. The best documented example is Earth’s magnetic field, which has reversed hundreds of times during its history3,4. The origin of geomagnetic polarity reversals lies in a magnetohydrodynamic process that takes place in Earth’s core, but the precise mechanism is debated5. The majority of numerical geodynamo simulations that exhibit reversals operate in a regime in which the viscosity of the fluid remains important, and in which the dynamo mechanism primarily involves stretching and twisting of field lines by columnar convection6. Here we present an example of another class of reversing-geodynamo model, which operates in a regime of comparatively low viscosity and high magnetic diffusivity. This class does not fit into the paradigm of reversal regimes that are dictated by the value of the local Rossby number (the ratio of advection to Coriolis force)7,8. Instead, stretching of the magnetic field by a strong shear in the east–west flow near the imaginary cylinder just touching the inner core and parallel to the axis of rotation is crucial to the reversal mechanism in our models, which involves a process akin to kinematic dynamo waves9,10. Because our results are relevant in a regime of low viscosity and high magnetic diffusivity, and with geophysically appropriate boundary conditions, this form of dynamo wave may also be involved in geomagnetic reversals.

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Figure 1: Control parameters of a selection of numerical geodynamo models that exhibit polarity reversals.
Figure 2: Magnetic field time-dependence for dynamo S6.
Figure 3: Magnetic field polarity reversal process.
Figure 4: Time-averaged flow in dynamo S6.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the computational resources provided by the Centro Svizzero di Calcolo Scientifico (CSCS) under the project s577. We are grateful to J. M. Favre from CSCS for assistance with high-performance visualization. We thank A. Willis for developing the original dynamo code that was used for the calculations reported here, and P. Marti for subsequent optimizations for the CSCS Cray. This work was partially supported by ERC grant no. 247303 (MFECE) to A.J. and by the Danish Council for Independent Research (DFF) grant no. 4002-00366 to C.C.F.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Geophysics, ETH Zurich, Zurich, 8092, Switzerland

    Andrey Sheyko & Andrew Jackson

  2. Division of Geomagnetism, DTU Space, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, 2800, Denmark

    Christopher C. Finlay

Authors
  1. Andrey Sheyko
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Contributions

A.S. carried out the numerical geodynamo simulations and analysed the runs, C.C.F. drafted the manuscript and participated in the analysis of the results. All authors contributed equally to the design of the study, discussed the results, and commented on the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andrey Sheyko.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Additional information

Reviewer Information Nature thanks P. Olson and the other anonymous reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

Extended data figures and tables

Extended Data Figure 1 Systematics of reversal period versus dynamo-wave predictions.

Comparison of the scaling of periods predicted by Parker’s dynamo-wave theory (Equation (1)) and the periods obtained in the dynamo calculations. Periods in the numerical calculations are determined from spectral analysis of the time series of dipole latitudes. The predicted periods from Parker’s dynamo-wave theory are calculated from volume-averaged helicity and zonal toroidal kinetic energy time-averaged over the last three reversals in the simulation or, in shorter simulations, during the second half of the reversing interval, with γ = 200 (Equation (1)). Numerical values of measured and estimated periods are provided in Extended Data Table 2.

Extended Data Figure 2 Time dependence of dipole tilt for dynamo S6.07.

The time dependence of the dipole tilt, determined from the first three Gauss coefficients of the magnetic field at the outer boundary. Units are magnetic diffusion times. S6.07 was started from a previous run S6.06, and then the Rayleigh number Ra was increased by a factor of two.

Extended Data Figure 3 The temperature drop between the ICB and the CMB in runs S6 and S6ε0.

Run S6ε0 starts from S6; the temperature drop increases after the internal heating is switched off.

Extended Data Figure 4 Radial temperature gradient on the ICB in runs S6 and S6ε0.

Steady-state values are −13.1 and −25.1 for runs S6 and S6ε0, respectively (see Equations (3) and (4)).

Extended Data Figure 5 Secular cooling normalized by the steady-state heat flux through the CMB (see Equation (5)), for runs S6 and S6ε0.

Extended Data Figure 6 Time dependence of dipole latitude for dynamos S6 and S6ε0.

The plot for S6 is shifted along the time axis to overlap S6ε0.

Extended Data Table 1 Selection of previous geodynamo model reversal studies included in Fig. 1
Full size table
Extended Data Table 2 Runs exploring variation of reversals with control parameters and set-up
Full size table

Supplementary information

Radial magnetic field at the surface of the liquid core

The radial magnetic field Br at the core-mantle boundary (CMB) is plotted in Hammer projection. Time marks are in magnetic diffusion units and values correspond to abscissas in Fig. 2. Frames are on average one thousand timesteps apart. (MP4 14582 kb)

Longitude-averaged azimuthal magnetic field in the meridional section

The azimuthal magnetic field is averaged in longitude to give Bj. One can see bands of the magnetic field with alternating sign appearing at the equator and travelling polewards. Time marks are in magnetic diffusion units and values correspond to abscissas in Fig. 2. Frames are on average one thousand timesteps apart. (MP4 10997 kb)

Radial magnetic field above the equatorial plane

The radial magnetic field Br in the plane parallel to equatorial in the middle of the shell between inner and outer boundaries, i.e. at z = (ri + ro)/2. One can see regularly altering directions of the field Br. Time marks are in magnetic diffusion units and values correspond to abscissas in Fig. 2. Frames are on average one thousand timesteps apart. (MP4 14515 kb)

Longitude-averaged azimuthal velocity field in the meridional section

The azimuthal velocity field u' is averaged in longitude. The prograde flow evident in the time-averaged Fig. 4 appears here in the form of prograde columns existing much of the time in the southern hemisphere. Time marks are in magnetic diffusion units and values correspond to abscissas in Fig. 2. Frames are on average one thousand timesteps apart. (MP4 14478 kb)

Azimuthal velocity field above the equatorial plane

The azimuthal velocity field uφ in the plane parallel to equatorial in the middle of the shell between inner and outer boundaries, i.e. at z = (ri + ro)/2. One can clearly see the mean westward drift of the flow. Time marks are in magnetic diffusion units and values correspond to abscissas in Fig. 2. Frames are on average one thousand timesteps apart. (MP4 14460 kb)

Temperature on the surface of the liquid core

The temperature at the core-mantle boundary is in Hammer projection. The southern hemisphere turned out to be always colder during the reversals. Time marks are in magnetic diffusion units and values correspond to abscissas in Fig. 2. Frames are on averageone thousand timesteps apart. (MP4 10964 kb)

Radial magnetic field at the Earth’s surface

The radial component of the magnetic field Br at the radius corresponding to the Earth’s surface is plotted in Hammer projection. The mantle is considered to be insulating, and first 13 spherical harmonics of the poloidal field on the core-mantle boundary are upward continued to the Earth’s surface. Time marks are in magnetic diffusion units and values correspond to abscissas in Fig. 2. Frames are on average one thousand timesteps apart. (MP4 11001 kb)

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Sheyko, A., Finlay, C. & Jackson, A. Magnetic reversals from planetary dynamo waves. Nature 539, 551–554 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature19842

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