QnAs with Gary A. Glatzmaier

Abstract

In the interiors of stars and most planets, global magnetic fields are generated by thermal convection of an electrically conducting fluid under the influence of rotation. Planetary scientist Gary A. Glatzmaier, Professor Emeritus of Earth and Planetary Sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz and a member of the National Academy of Sciences, explores the dynamics of planetary and stellar interiors. He produces 3D time-dependent simulations of thermal convection and magnetic field generation. Glatzmaier has modeled the solar dynamo, the geodynamo, and recently Jupiter’s dynamo, just as NASA’s Juno mission is returning high-fidelity data of Jupiter’s near-surface magnetic and gravity fields. His results, reported in his Inaugural Article (1), describe how certain banded patterns in Jupiter’s near-surface fields, if detected by Juno, would help answer the longstanding question about the depth to which the jet streams observed on Jupiter’s surface extend below its surface. Glatzmaier recently spoke to PNAS about his findings. Gary A. Glatzmaier. Image courtesy of Gary A. Glatzmaier. > PNAS:How did you become interested in modeling the convection of celestial bodies? > Glatzmaier:I was a graduate student in physics at the University of Colorado, Boulder, when I became interested in solar physics, in particular studying convection and magnetic field generation deep within the interior …