A hemispherical dynamo model : Implications for the Martian crustal magnetization

2014

Abstract Mars Global Surveyor measurements revealed that the Martian crust is strongly magnetized in the southern hemisphere while the northern hemisphere is virtually void of magnetization. Two possible reasons have been suggested for this dichotomy: a once more or less homogeneously magnetization may have been destroyed in the northern hemisphere by, for example, resurfacing or impacts. The alternative theory we further explore here assumes that the dynamo itself produced a hemispherical field ( Stanley et al., 2008 , Amit et al., 2011 ). We use numerical dynamo simulations to study under which conditions a spatial variation of the heat flux through the core–mantle boundary (CMB) may yiel…