Flow and Creep in the Solar System: Observations, Modeling and Theory

The NATO ASI held in the Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, June 17-28, 1991 was, we believe, the first attempt to bring together geoscientists from all the disciplines related to the solar system where fluid flow is a fundamental phenomenon. The various aspects of flow discussed at the meeting ranged from the flow of ice in glaciers, through motion of the solar wind, to the effects of flow in the Earth's mantle as seen in surface phenomena. A major connecting theme is the role played by convection. For a previous attempt to review the various ways in which convection plays an important role in natural phenomena one must go back to an early comprehensive study by 1. Wasiutynski in "Astro­ physica Norvegica" vo1. 4, 1946. This work, little known now perhaps, was a pioneering study. In understanding the evolution of bodies of the solar system, from accretion to present-day processes, ranging from interplanetary plasma to fluid cores, the understanding of flow hydrodynamics is essentia1. From the large scale in planetary atmospheres to geological processes, such as those seen in magma chambers on the Earth, one is dealing with thermal or chemical convection. Count Rumford, the founder of the Royal Institution, studied thermal convection experimentally and realized its practical importance in domestic contexts.

Inhalt

Preface. Convection and Flows in the Sun and Stars; K.B. MacGregor. A Review of the Dynamics of the Lower and Upper Thermosphere; D. Rees. Reversals of the Solar Source Surface Magnetic Field and of the Planets; S.-I. Akasofu, T. Saito. Planetary Magnetism Re-Visited; R. Hide. Some Reflections on Solid State Convection in the Mantles of the Earth, Moon and Terrestrial Planets; S.K. Runcorn. Rotating Spherical Convection with Applications to Planetary Systems; K. Zhang. Geomagnetism and Inferences for Core Motions; D. Gubbins. Energetic Aspects of Thermal Convective Magnetohydrodynamic Dynamos; Y.-Q. Lou. Preferred Bands of Longitude for Geomagnetic Reversal VGP Paths: Implications for Reversal Mechanisms; C. Laj, A. Mazaud, M. Fuller, E. Herrero-Bervera. Parameterization of Temperature and Stress-Dependent Viscosity Convection and the Thermal Evolution of Venus; V.S. Solomatov. Complex Flow Structures in Strongly Chaotic Time-Dependent Mantle Convection; D.A. Yuen, W. Zhao, A.V. Malevsky. An Explicit Inertial Method for the Simulation of Viscoelastic Flow: An Evaluation of Elastic Effects on Diapiric Flow in Two and Three Layer Models; A.N.B. Poliakov, P.A. Cundall, Y.Y. Podladchikov, V.A. Lyakhovsky. Dynamically Supported Topography at the Earth's Surface and the Core-Mantle-Boundary: Influences by a Depth-Dependent Thermal Expansivity and a Chemical Boundary Layer; D.C. Olbertz, U. Hansen. 3-D Numerical Investigation of the Mantle Dynamics Associated with the Breakup of Pangea; J.R. Baumgardner. Subduction Zones, Magmatism, and the Breakup of Pangea; L.A. Lawver, L.M. Gahagan. Relationship between Hotspots and Mantle Structure: Correlation with Whole Mantle Seismic Tomography; S. Kedar, D.L. Anderson, D.J. Stevenson. Porous Media Flow in Granitoid Magmas: An Assessment; N. Petford. Dynamics of Magma Chambers; A. Rice. A Mechanism for Spontaneous Self-Perpetuating Volcanism on the Terrestrial Planets; P.J. Tackley, D.J. Stevenson. High Latitude Ocean Convection; B. Rudels. Analogous Modes of Convection in the Atmosphere and Ocean; S.A. Condie, P.B. Rhines. The Dynamics of Subcritical Double-Diffusive Convection in the Southern Ocean: An Application to Polynyas; J. Schmalzl, U. Hansen. Strategies for Modelling Climate Changes; L.A. Lliboutry. Ice Sheet Dynamics; L.A. Lliboutry. Glacier Flow Modeling; B. Kamb.