Analysis of Geodynamo Simulations and Comparison with Paleomagnetic Data

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9903194 Coe Dynamo modeling has advanced to the stage that meaningful comparisons between simulated behavior of the geomagnetic field and observational data can now be made. The Glatzmaier-Roberts 3-D, dynamically self-consistent supercomputer computations employ both thermal and compositional convection in the core driven by various prescribed patterns of heat flux at the core-mantle boundary. They have now yielded simulations of the geomagnetic field totaling about one and a half million model years that exhibit dipole-dominated, stable polarity intervals punctuated by excursions and reversals. The investigators propose to analyze these geodynamo simulations in order to compare them with paleomagnetically observed field behavior, both time-averaged field data and records of directional excursions and polarity reversals. These comparisons will lead both to improved dynamo models and to a better understanding of processes and conditions in the core and deep mantle that are important in generating the Earth's field.