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There is, however, something wrong with this
concentric flow of water. A convection current is meant
to carry heat from hot areas to cold areas, but
with a concentric flow of water, this obviously
doesn't happen. In other words, a concentric flow of
water makes for an extremely inefficient thermal
convection.
If you speed up the rotation of the model, this
concentric flow becomes unstable, and begins to
meander.
This is called baroclinic instability. When
water meanders, it moves back and forth from hot to
cold areas, carrying the heat as it goes. Compared to
a concentric flow, this meandering flow transfers
heat far more efficiently.
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