Heat transfer and the onset of chaos in a spherical, axisymmetric, anelastic model of whole mantle convection

An isochemical uni-phase model of whole mantle convection has been developed in terms of which factors influencing the onset of time dependent chaotic behavior may be assessed. The model is spherical but restricted in generality to the analysis of axisymmetric solutions. In this paper we have employed it to examine the impact of compressibility and sphericity on the nature and onset of time dependence. Particular attention has been given to an examination of the impact that the onset of time dependence has upon the power law relation that connects the heat transfer (represented by the Nusselt number) to the strength of the thermal forcing (represented by the Rayleigh number). In order to obtain these results very extensive numerical simulations were required and the results themselves should be rather useful in the context of models of the thermal history of the planet.