Magnetostrophic Flow in Experiments and the Core of the Earth

MFECE was an ERC-funded external page project that ran from 2010-2016.
A selected 27 of the total of 41 publications resulting from the project can be found on open-access external page here.

The project MFECE aimed to analyse the regime of fluid mechanics applicable to the cores of many planets. These cores are rapidly rotating with vey low fluid viscosities (similar to that of water at room temperature and pressure). Their internal motions are slow, but they are subjected to buoyancy forces and magnetic (Lorentz) forces, and sometimes boundary driving (taking the form of precession and librations caused by the gravitational influence of other planets on their mantles).

The project is multi-faceted, with a strong experimental bent that makes use of new technologies. We complement this with supercomputer simulations and theoretical developments aimed at understanding the fluid flow regime of many cores. One element of the project with societal impact is associated with the area of data assimilation. This holds the prospect of improving forecasts of changes in the Earth's magnetic field.