Morphological Regimes of Rotating Convection in Stratified Spherical Shells

We present a series of numerical simulations that model the convection zones in giant planets and stars. Each simulation consists of a rotating spherical shell that is highly stratified by gravity. With this suite of numerical experiments we explore the convective structures that are achieved as the convective Rossby number and Rayleigh number are changed. We illustrate how the convective flow field and differential rotation transition though a series of morphological stages or regimes as the modified Rayleigh number, a measure of supercriticality, increases. Some of these regimes have been previously identified, but, remained poorly characterized from a flow-structure standpoint. We will particularly focus on the morphological features that occur because of compressibility and on differences that manifest in the topology of flows in polar and equatorial regions.