Kinetic energy cascades in quasi-geostrophic convection in a spherical shell

Abstract

We consider triadic nonlinear interaction in the Navier-Stokes equation for quasi-geostrophic convection in a spherical shell. This approach helps understanding the origin of kinetic energy transport in the system and the particular scheme of mode interaction, as well as the locality of the energy transfer. The peculiarity of convection in the sphere, concerned with excitation of Rossby waves, is considered. The obtained results are compared with our previous study in Cartesian geometry.