The three‐dimensional stirring of the outer core that is required for dynamo action is very rapid compared with thermal diffusion, ensuring that the temperature gradient is maintained very close to the adiabatic value (see Core, adiabatic gradient ). Thus there is a steady flux of conducted heat at all levels, regardless of the convected heat transport. Thermal convection requires additional heat, but there is also a possibility of refrigerator action by compositional convection, carrying some of the conducted heat back down (see Core convection and Core composition). Either way the conducted heat cannot contribute to dynamo action, but is a “base load” on core energy sources that must be provided before anything else can happen. The magnitude of this “base load” depends on the thermal conductivity.
Relationship between thermal and electrical conductivities
Heat transport in the core alloy is dominated by the conduction electrons. We can write the total conductivity, κ, as a sum of...
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Bibliography
Kittel, C., 1971. Introduction to Solid State Physics, 4th edn. New York: Wiley.
Stacey, F.D., and Anderson, O.L., 2001. Electrical and thermal conductivities of Fe‐Ni‐Si alloy under core conditions. Physics of Earth and Planetary Interiors, 124: 153–162.
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Stacey, F.D. (2007). CORE, THERMAL CONDUCTION. In: Gubbins, D., Herrero-Bervera, E. (eds) Encyclopedia of Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4423-6_47
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