Magnetic Field Generation and Zonal Flows in the Gas Giants

The surface dynamics of Jupiter and Saturn is dominated by a banded system of fierce zonal winds. The depth of these winds remains unclear but they are thought to be confined to the very outer envelopes where hydrogen remains molecular and the electrical conductivity is negligible. The dynamo responsible for the dipole dominated magnetic fields of both Gas Giants, on the other hand, likely operates in the deeper interior where hydrogen assumes a metallic state. We present numerical simulations that attempt to model both the zonal winds and the interior dynamo action in an integrated approach. Using the anelastic version of the MHD code MagIC, we explore the effects of density stratification and radial electrical conductivity variations. The electrical conductivity is assumed to remain constant in the thicker inner metallic region and decays exponentially towards the outer boundary throughout the molecular envelope. Our results show that the combination of stronger density stratification (Δρ≈55) and a weaker conducting outer layer is essential for reconciling dipole dominated dynamo action and a fierce equatorial zonal jet. Previous simulations with homogeneous electrical conductivity show that both are mutually exclusive, with solutions either having strong zonal winds and multipolar magnetic fields or weak zonal winds and dipole dominated magnetic fields. The particular setup explored here allows the equatorial jet to remain confined to the weaker conducting region where is does not interfere with the deeper seated dynamo action. The equatorial jet can afford to remain geostrophic and reaches throughout the whole shell. This is not an option for the additional mid to higher latitude jets, however. In dipole dominated dynamo solutions, appropriate for the Gas Giants, zonal flows remain very faint in the deeper dynamo region but increase in amplitude in the weakly conducting outer layer in some of our simulations. This suggests that the mid to high latitude jets observed on Jupiter and Saturn are a relatively shallow phenomenon remaining confined to the outer few percent in radius.