Non-linear marginal convection in a rotating magnetic system

Abstract

An inviscid, electrically conducting fluid is contained between two rigid horizontal planes and bounded laterally by two vertical walls. The fluid is permeated by a strong uniform horizontal magnetic field aligned with the side wall boundaries and the entire system rotates rapidly about a vertical axis. The ratio of the magnitudes of the Lorentz and Coriolis forces is characterized by the Elsasser number, A, and the ratio of the thermal and magnetic diffusivities, q. By heating the fluid from below and cooling from above the system becomes unstable to small perturbations when the adverse density gradient as measured by the Rayleigh number, R, is sufficiently large.

With the viscosity ignored the geostrophic velocity, U, which is aligned with the applied magnetic field, is independent of the coordinate parallel to the rotation axis but is an arbitrary function of the horizontal cross-stream coordinate. At the onset of instability the value of U taken ensures that Taylor's condition is met. Specifically the Lorentz force, which results from marginal convection must not cause any acceleration of the geostrophic flow. It is found that the critical Rayleigh number characterising the onset of instability is generally close to the corresponding value for the usual linear problem, in which Taylor's condition is ignored and U is chosen to vanish. Significant differences can occur when q is small owing to a complicated flow structure. There is a central interior region in which the local magnetic Reynolds number, R_m , based on U is small of order q and on exterior region in which R_m is of order unity.     

Hydromagnetic waves in a differentially rotating Annulus I. A test of local stability analysis

Abstract

A cylindrical annulus containing a conducting fluid and rapidly rotating about its axis is a useful model for the Earth's core. With a shear flow U ₀(s)∮, magnetic field B ₀(s)∮, and temperature distribution T _o(s) (where (s, ∮, z) are cylindrical polar coordinates), many important properties of the core can be modelled while a certain degree of mathematical simplicity is maintained. In the limit of rapid rotation and at geophysically interesting field strengths, the effects of viscous diffusion and fluid inertia are neglected. In this paper, the linear stability of the above basic state to instabilities driven by gradients of B ₀ and U ₀ is investigated. The global numerical results show both instabilities predicted by a local analysis due to Acheson (1972, 1973, 1984) as well as a new resistive magnetic instability. For the non-diffusive field gradient instability we looked at both monotonic fields [for which the local stability parameter Δ, defined in (1.4), is a constant] and non-monotonic fields (for which Δ is a function of s). For both cases we found excellent qualitative agreement between the numerical and local results but found the local criterion (1.6) for instability to be slightly too stringent. For the non-monotonic fields, instability is confined approximately to the region which is locally unstable. We also investigated the diffusive buoyancy catalysed instability for monotonic fields and found good quantitative agreement between the numerical results and the local condition (1.9). The new resistive instability was found for fields vanishing (or small) at the outer boundary and it is concentrated in the region of that boundary. The resistive boundary layer plays an important part in this instability so it is not of a type which could be predicted using a local stability analysis (which takes no account of the presence of boundaries).     

Magnetic instabilities in rapidly rotating spherical geometries II. more realistic fields and resistive instabilities

Abstract

Magnetic instabilities play an important role in the understanding of the dynamics of the Earth's fluid core. In this paper we continue our study of the linear stability of an electrically conducting fluid in a rapidly rotating, rigid, electrically insulating spherical geometry in the presence of a toroidal basic state, comprising magnetic field B_MB _O(r, θ)1ø and flow U_MU _O(r, θ)1ø The magnetostrophic approximation is employed to numerically analyse the two classes of instability which are likely to be relevant to the Earth. These are the field gradient (or ideal) instability, which requires strong field gradients and strong fields, and the resistive instability, dependent on finite resistivity and the presence of a zero in the basic state B _O(r,θ). Based on a local analysis and numerical results in a cylindrical geometry we have established the existence of the field gradient instability in a spherical geometry for very simple basic states in the first paper of this series. Here, we extend the calculations to more realistic basic states in order to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the field gradient mode. Having achieved this we turn our attention to the resistive instability. Its presence in a spherical model is confirmed by the numerical calculations for a variety of basic states. The purpose of these investigations is not just to find out which basic states can become unstable but also to provide a quantitative measure as to how strong the field must become before instability occurs. The strength of the magnetic field is measured by the Elsasser number; its critical value _c describing the state of marginal stability. For the basic states which we have studied we find _c 200–1000 for the field gradient mode, whereas for the resistive modes _c 50–160. For the field gradient instability, _c increases rapidly with the azimuthal wavenumber m whereas in the resistive case there is no such pronounced difference for modes corresponding to different values of m. The above values of _c indicate that both types of instability, ideal and resistive, are of relevance to the parameter regime found inside the Earth. For the resistive mode, as is increased from _c, we find a shortening lengthscale in the direction along the contour B_O = 0. Such an effect was not observable in simpler (for example, cylindrical) models.     

Magnetic instabilities in rapidly rotating spherical geometries. III. The effect of differential rotation

Abstract

We investigate the influence of differential rotation on magnetic instabilities for an electrically conducting fluid in the presence of a toroidal basic state of magnetic field B ₀ = B_MB₀(r, θ)1 _φ and flow U₀ = U_MU₀ (r, θ)1_φ, [(r, θ, φ) are spherical polar coordinates]. The fluid is confined in a rapidly rotating, electrically insulating, rigid spherical container. In the first instance the influence of differential rotation on established magnetic instabilities is studied. These can belong to either the ideal or the resistive class, both of which have been the subject of extensive research in parts I and II of this series. It was found there, that in the absence of differential rotation, ideal modes (driven by gradients of B ₀) become unstable for A_c ? 200 whereas resistive instabilities (generated by magnetic reconnection processes near critical levels, i.e. zeros of B₀) require A_c ? 50. Here, Λ is the Elsasser number, a measure of the magnetic field strength and Λ_c is its critical value at marginal stability. Both types of instability can be stabilised by adding differential rotation into the system. For the resistive modes the exact form of the differential rotation is not important whereas for the ideal modes only a rotation rate which increases outward from the rotation axis has a stabilising effect. We found that in all cases which we investigated Λ_c increased rapidly and the modes disappeared when R_m ≈ O(Λ_C), where the magnetic Reynolds number R_m is a measure of the strength of differential rotation. The main emphasis, however, is on instabilities which are driven by unstable gradients of the differential rotation itself, i.e. an otherwise stable fluid system is destabilised by a suitable differential rotation once the magnetic Reynolds number exceeds a certain critical value (R_m )_c. Earlier work in the cylindrical geometry has shown that the differential rotation can generate an instability if R_m ) ?O(Λ). Those results, obtained for a fixed value of Λ = 100 are extended in two ways: to a spherical geometry and to an analysis of the effect of the magnetic field strength Λ on these modes of instability. Calculations confirm that modes driven by unstable gradients of the differential rotation can exist in a sphere and they are in good agreement with the local analysis and the predictions inferred from the cylindrical geometry. For Λ = O(100), the critical value of the magnetic Reynolds number (R_m )_c Λ 100, depending on the choice of flow U₀ . Modes corresponding to azimuthal wavenumber m = 1 are the most unstable ones. Although the magnetic field B ₀ is itself a stable one, the field strength plays an important role for this instability. For all modes investigated, both for cylindrical and spherical geometries, (R_m )_c reaches a minimum value for 50 ≈ Λ ≈ 100. If Λ is increased, (R_m )_c ∝ Λ, whereas a decrease of Λ leads to a rapid increase of (R_m )_c, i.e. a stabilisation of the system. No instability was found for Λ ≈ 10 — 30. Optimum conditions for instability driven by unstable gradients of the differential rotation are therefore achieved for ≈ Λ 50 — 100, R_m ? 100. These values lead to the conclusion that the instabilities can play an important role in the dynamics of the Earth's core.     

Nonlinear Magnetoconvection and the Geostrophic Flow - Subcritical Solutions

The magnetoconvection problem under the magnetostrophic approximation is investigated as the nonlinear regime is entered. The model consists of a fluid filled sphere, internally heated, and rapidly rotating in the presence of a prescribed, axisymmetric, toroidal magnetic field. For simplicity only a dipole parity and a single azimuthal wavenumber (m = 2) is considered here. The leading order nonlinearity at small amplitude is the geostrophic flow U _g which is introduced to the previously linear model (Walker and Barenghi, 1997a, b). Walker and Barenghi (1997c) considered parameter space above critical and found that U _g acts as an equilibration mechanism for moderately supercritical solutions. However, for solutions well above critical a Taylor state is approached and the system can no longer equilibrate. More importantly though, in the context of this paper, is that subcritical solutions were found. Here subcritical solutions are considered in more detail. It was found that, at is strongly dependent on . ( is the critical value of the modified Rayleigh number is a measure of the maximum amplitude of the generated geostrophic flow while , the Elsasser number, defines the strength of the prescribed toroidal field.) R_m at proves to be the key measure in determining how far into the subcritical regime the system can advance.     

The weak taylor state in an αω-dynamo

Abstract

A spherical αω-dynamo is studied for small values of the viscous coupling parameter ε ～ v^1/2, paying attention particularly to large dynamo numbers. The present study is a follow-up of the work by Hollerbach et al. (1992) with their choice of α-effect and Archimedean wind including also the constraint of magnetic field symmetry (or antisymmetry) due to equatorial plane. The magnetic field scaled by ε^1/2 is independent of ε in the solutions for dynamo numbers smaller than a certain value of D _b (the Ekman state) which are represented by dynamo waves running from pole to equator or vice-versa. However, for dynamo numbers larger than D _b the solution bifurcates and subsequently becomes dependent on ε. The bifurcation is a consequence of a crucial role of the meridional convection in the mechanism of magnetic field generation. Calculations suggest that the bifurcation appears near dynamo number about 33500 and the solutions for larger dynamo numbers and ε = 0 become unstable and fail, while the solutions for small but non-zero ε are characterized by cylindrical layers of local maximum of magnetic field and sharp changes of geostrophic velocity. Our theoretical analysis allows us to conclude that our solution does not take the form of the usual Taylor state, where the Taylor constraint should be satisfied due to the special structure of magnetic field. We rather obtained the solution in the form of a “weak” Taylor state, where the Taylor constraint is satisfied partly due to the amplitude of the magnetic field and partly due to its structure. Calculations suggest that the roles of amplitude and structure are roughly fifty-fifty in our “weak” Taylor state solution and thus they can be called a Semi-Taylor state. Simple estimates show that also Ekman state solutions can be applicable in the geodynamo context.     

Convection in a rotating magnetic system and Taylor's constraint

Abstract

A system is considered in which electrically conducting fluid is contained between two rigid horizontal planes and bounded laterally by a circular cylinder. The fluid is permeated by a strong azimuthal magnetic field. The strength of the field increases linearly with distance from the vertical axis of the cylinder, about which the entire system rotates rapidly. An unstable temperature gradient is maintained by heating the fluid from below and cooling from above. When viscosity and inertia are neglected, an arbitrary geostrophic velocity, which is aligned with the applied azimuthal magnetic field and independent of the axial coordinate, can be superimposed on the basic axisymmetric state. In this inviscid limit, the geostrophic velocity which occurs at the onset of convection is such that the net torque on geostrophic cylinders vanishes (Taylor's condition). The mathematical problem which describes the ensuing marginal convection is nonlinear, and was discussed previously for the planar case by Soward (1986). Here new features are isolated which result from the cylindrical geometry. New asymptotic solutions are derived valid when Taylor's condition is relaxed to include viscous effects.     

Hydromagnetic waves in rapidly rotating spherical shells generated by poloidal decay modes

Abstract

This paper presents the first attempt to examine the stability of a poloidal magnetic field in a rapidly rotating spherical shell of electrically conducting fluid. We find that a steady axisymmetric poloidal magnetic field loses its stability to a non-axisymmetric perturbation when the Elsasser number A based on the maximum strength of the field exceeds a value about 20. Comparing this with observed fields, we find that, for any reasonable estimates of the appropriate parameters in planetary interiors, our theory predicts that all planetary poloidal fields are stable, with the possible exception of Jupiter. The present study therefore provides strong support for the physical relevance of magnetic stability analysis to planetary dynamos. We find that the fluid motions driven by magnetic instabilities are characterized by a nearly two-dimensional columnar structure attempting to satisfy the Proudman-Taylor theorm. This suggests that the most rapidly growing perturbation arranges itself in such a way that the geostrophic condition is satisfied to leading order. A particularly interesting feature is that, for the most unstable mode, contours of the non-axisymmetric azimuthal flow are closely aligned with the basic axisymmetric poloidal magnetic field lines. As a result, the amplitude of the azimuthal component of the instability is smaller than or comparable with that of the poloidal component, in contrast with the instabilities generated by toroidal decay modes (Zhang and Fearn, 1994). It is shown, by examining the same system with and without fluid inertia, that fluid inertia plays a secondary role when the magnetic Taylor number T_m ? 10⁵. We find that the direction of propagation of hydromagnetic waves driven by the instability is influenced strongly by the size of the inner core.     

α2-Dynamos and taylor's constraint

Abstract

An idealised α²ω-dynamo is considered in which the α-effect is prescribed. The additional ω-effect results from a geostrophic motion whose magnitude is determined indirectly by the Lorentz forces and Ekman suction at the boundary. As the strength of the α-effect is increased, a critical value α? _c is reached at which dynamo activity sets in; α? _c is determined by the solution of the kinematic α²-dynamo problem. In the neighbourhood of the critical value of α? the magnetic field is weak of order E ^1/4(μηρω)^½ due to the control of Ekman suction; E(?1) is the Ekman number. At certain values of α?, viscosity independent solutions are found satisfying Taylor's constraint. They are identified by the bifurcation of a nonlinear eigenvalue problem. Dimensional arguments indicate that following this second bifurcation the magnetic field is strong of order (μηρω)^½. The nature of the transition between the kinematic linear theory and the Taylor state is investigated for various distributions of the α-effect. The character of the transition is found to be strongly model dependent.     

The destabilising nature of differential rotation

Abstract

In a rapidly rotating, electrically conducting fluid we investigate the thermal stability of the fluid in the presence of an imposed toroidal magnetic field and an imposed toroidal differential rotation. We choose a magnetic field profile that is stable. The familiar role of differential rotation is a stabilising one. We wish to examine the less well known destabilising effect that it can have. In a plane layer model (for which we are restricted to Roberts number q = 0) with differential rotation, U = sΩ(z)1 _?, no choice of Ω(z) led to a destabilising effect. However, in a cylindrical geometry (for which our model permits all values of q) we found that differential rotations U = sΩ(s)1 _? which include a substantial proportion of negative gradient (dΩ/ds ≤ 0) give a destabilising effect which is largest when the magnetic Reynolds number R _m = O(10); the critical Rayleigh number, Ra _c, is about 7% smaller at minimum than at R_m = 0 for q = 10⁶. We also find that as q is reduced, the destabilising effect is diminished and at q = 10^?6, which may be more appropriate to the Earth's core, the effect causes a dip in the critical Rayleigh number of only about 0.001%. This suggests that we see no dip in the plane layer results because of the q = 0 condition. In the above results, the Elsasser number A = 1 but the effect of differential rotation is also dependent on A. Earlier work has shown a smooth transition from thermal to differential rotation driven instability at high A [A = O(100)]. We find, at intermediate A [A = O(10)], a dip in the Ra_c vs. R_m curve similar to the A = 1 case. However, it has Ra_c ≤ 0 at its minimum and unlike the results for high A, larger values of R_m result in a restabilisation.     

Hamiltonian description of almost geostrophic flow

Abstract

Geostrophic flow in the theory of a shallow rotating fluid is exactly analogous to the drift approximation in a strongly magnetized electrostatic plasma. This analogy is developed and exhibited in detailed to derive equations for the slow nearly geostrophic motion. The key ingredient in the theory is the isolation, to whatever order in Rossby number desired, of the fast motion near the inertial frequency. One of the remaining degrees of freedom represents a new approximate constant of the motion for nearly geostrophic flow. This is the analogue of the familiar magnetic moment adiabatic invariant in the plasma problem.

The procedure is a Rossby number expansion of the Hamiltonian for the fluid expressed in Lagrangian, rather than Eulerian variables. The fundamental Poisson brackets of the theory are not expanded so desirable properties such as energy conservation are maintained throughout.     

Magnetic Fluctuations for Small Magnetic Prandtl Numbers

Numerous studies of magnetic fluctuations with a zero mean-field for small magnetic Prandtl numbers (Pr _m 1) show that magnetic fluctuations cannot be generated by turbulent fluid flow with the Kolmogorov energy spectrum. In addition, the generation of magnetic fluctuations with a zero mean-field for Pr _m 1 were not observed in numerical simulations. However, in astrophysical plasmas the magnetic Prandtl numbers are small and magnetic fluctuations are observed. Thus a mechanism of generation of magnetic fluctuations for Pr _m 1 still remains poorly understood. On the other hand, in astrophysical applications (e.g., solar and stellar convection zones, galaxies, accretion disks) the turbulent velocity field cannot be considered as a divergence-free. The generation of magnetic fluctuations by turbulent flow of conducting fluid with a zero mean magnetic field for Pr _m 1 is studied by means of linear and nonlinear analysis. The turbulent fluid velocity field is assumed to be homogeneous and isotropic with a power law energy spectrum ( k ^–p ) and with a very short scale-dependent correlation time. It is found that magnetic fluctuations can be generated when the exponent p > 3/2. It is shown also that the growth rates of the higher moments of the magnetic field are larger than those of the lower moments, i.e., the spatial distribution of the magnetic field is intermittent. In addition, the effect of compressibility (i.e., u 0) of the low-Mach-number turbulent fluid flow u is studied. It is demonstrated that the threshold for the generation of magnetic fluctuations by turbulent fluid flow with u 0 is higher than that for incompressible fluid. This implies that the compressibility impairs the generation of magnetic fluctuations. Nonlinear effects result in saturation of growth of the magnetic fluctuations. Asymptotic properties of the steady state solution for the second moment of the magnetic field in the case of the Hall nonlinearity for the low-Mach-number compressible flow are studied.     

Macrodynamics of α2 dynamos

Abstract

Two distributions of the α-effect in a sphere are considered. The inviscid limit is approached both by direct numerical solution and by solution of a simpler nonlinear eigenvalue problem deriving from asymptotic boundary layer analysis for the case of stress-free boundaries. The inviscid limit in both cases is dominated by the need to satisfy the Taylor constraint which states that the integral of the Lorentz force over cylindrical (geostrophic) contours in a homogeneous fluid must tend to zero. For a small supercritical range in α, this condition can only be met by magnetic fields which vanish as the viscosity goes to zero. In this range, the agreement of the two approaches is excellent. In a portion of this range, the method of finite amplitude perturbation expansion is useful, and serves as a guide for understanding the numerical results. For larger α, evidence from the nonlinear eigenvalue problem suggests both that the Taylor state exists, and that the transition from small to large amplitude can require a finite amplitude (oscillatory) instability in accord with the findings of Soward and Jones (1983). However, solutions of the full equations have not been found which are independent of viscosity at larger values of α.     

Linear Magnetoconvection in Rotating Fluid Spheres Permeated by a Uniform Axial Magnetic Field

A linear analysis of thermally driven magnetoconvection is carried out with emphasis on its application to convection in the Earth's core. We consider a rotating and self-gravitating fluid sphere (or spherical shell) permeated by a uniform magnetic field parallel to the spin axis. In rapidly rotating cases, we find that five different convective modes appear as the uniform field is increased; namely, geostrophic, polar convective, magneto-geostrophic, fast magnetostrophic and slow magnetostrophic modes. The polar convective (P) and magneto-geostrophic (E) modes seem to be of geophysical interest. The P mode is characterized by such an axisymmetric meridional circulation that the fluid penetrates the equatorial plane, suggesting that generation of quadrapole from dipole fields could be explained by a linear process. The E mode is characterized by a few axially aligned columnar rolls which are almost two-dimensional due to a modified Proudman-Taylor theorem.     

Magnetic instability in a rapidly rotating cylindrical annulus with a finitely conducting inner core

Abstract

We consider the stability of a toroidal magnetic field B = B(s*) (where (s*,φ,z*) are cylindrical polar coordinates) in a cylindrical annulus of conducting fluid with inner and outer radii s_i and s _o rotating rapidly about its axis. The outer boundary is taken to be either insulating or perfectly conducting, and the effect of a finite magnetic diffusivity in the inner core is investigated. The ratio of magnetic diffusivity in the inner core to that of the outer core is denoted by ηη→0 corresponding to a perfectly conducting inner core and η→∞ to an insulating one. Comparisons with the results of Fearn (1983b, 1988) were made and a good match found in the limits η→0 and η→∞ with his perfectly conducting and insulating results, respectively. In addition a new mode of instability was found in the eta;→0 regime. Features of this new mode are low frequency (both the frequency and growth rate →0 as η→0) and penetration deep into the inner core. Typically it is unstable at lower magnetic field strengths than the previously known instabilities.     

Stability and stable modes of coastal fronts

Abstract

The stability of a single layer, geostrophic front of zero potential vorticity bounded by a vertical coast (wall) is investigated by means of a Rayleigh integral. It is proved that the flow of the density-driven current is stable at all wavenumbers provided the mean velocity of basic flow exceeds fL (where f is the Coriolis parameter and L is the distance between the wall and the free streamline). The frequency of the stable long waves is either zero or super-inertial.     

On the modified Taylor constraint

A dynamo driven by motions unaffected by viscous forces is termed magnetostrophic. Although such a model might describe magnetic field generation in Earth’s core well, a magnetostrophic dynamo has not yet been found even though Taylor [Proc. R. Soc. Lond. A 1963, 274, 274–283] devised an apparently viable method of finding one. His method for determining the fluid velocity from the magnetic field and the energy source involved only the evaluation of integrals along lines parallel to the Earth’s axis of rotation and the solution of a second-order ordinary differential equation. It is demonstrated below that an approximate solution of this equation for a broad family of magnetic fields is immediate. Furthermore inertia, which was neglected in Taylor’s theory, is restored here, so that the modified theory includes torsional waves, whose existence in the Earth’s core has been inferred from observations of the length of day. Their theory is reconsidered.     

On waves generated by a moving pressure field,II: Cnoidal wave effects

Summary In a recent paperHunt andTanner [3]²) investigated the waves generated by a steadily moving two-dimensional pressure distribution, which was zero ahead of the disturbance and a constantp ₀, tehind it, these regions being joined smoothly by a cubic function. Only those solutions with supercritical flow in both regions were considered, these were found to lead to an asymmetric solitary wave.This result is now extended to take account of the possibility of subcritical flow in either or both the regions, that is when there is a cnoidal wave train either behind and or ahead of the main solitary wave crest.The wave profiles are determined by the iterative method employed in the previous paper. This together with the wave drag associated with each system is computed for various values ofp ₀/U ², where is the fluid density andU a typical velocity.     

Forces on spheres moving horizontally in a rotating stratified fluid

Abstract

Measurements have been made of the net horizontal force F acting on a sphere moving with horizontal velocity U (Reynolds numbers in the range 10²-10⁴) through a stratified fluid rotating about a vertical axis with uniform angular velocity Ω. In both homogeneous and stratified rotating fluids with small Rossby number R(R = U/Ωa ? 1 where a is the radius of the sphere) the force F is of magnitude 2ΩρUV (where ρ is the density of the fluid and V is the volume of the sphere). In a homogeneous fluid the relative directions of F and U were found to depend on the quantity F = 8Ωa ²/UD (where D is the depth of the fluid in which the object is placed (Mason, 1975)). In a rotating stratified fluid the relative directions of F and U are found to depend on the inverse Froude number k(k = Na/U where N ² = (g/δ)?ρ/?z) provided D > 4aΩ/N. In a homogeneous fluid with F ? 1 the force F is mainly in the U direction (a drag force due to inertial wave radiation) and is ～ ?0.4 |MX 2ΩρUV For F ? 1 a “Taylor column” occurs and the force, in correspondence with theoretical expectations, is ～ - 2Ω |MX UρV In a rotating stratified fluid with N ～2Ω and k ? 1 the force F is mainly in the U direction but is roughly one half of that occurring in the homogeneous situation with F ? 1 (tentatively explained as due to the evanescence of inertia-gravity disturbances). In a rotating stratified fluid with k ? 1 the flow should have no vertical motion (as with F ? 1) and again in correspondence with theoretical expectations the drag is ～ ?2 Ω |MX UρV. In a non-rotating stratified fluid the drag coefficient C _D(C _D = F U/½?ρU ²) was measured in the range k = 0.1 to 10 and had a maximum value ～ 1.2 for k ～ 3.     

Magnetic instabilities in rapidly rotating spherical geometries I. from cylinders to spheres

Abstract

The solution of the full nonlinear hydromagnetic dynamo problem is a major numerical undertaking. While efforts continue, supplementary studies into various aspects of the dynamo process can greatly improve our understanding of the mechanisms involved. In the present study, the linear stability of an electrically conducting fluid in a rigid, electrically insulating spherical container in the presence of a toroidal magnetic field B_o(r,θ)lø and toroidal velocity field U_o(r,θ)lø, [where (r,θ,ø) are polar coordinates] is investigated. The system, a model for the Earth's fluid core, is rapidly rotating, the magnetostrophic approximation is used and thermal effects are excluded. Earlier studies have adopted a cylindrical geometry in order to simplify the numerical analysis. Although the cylindrical geometry retains the fundamental physics, a spherical geometry is a more appropriate model for the Earth. Here, we use the results which have been found for cylindrical systems as guidelines for the more realistic spherical case. This is achieved by restricting attention to basic states depending only on the distance from the rotation axis and by concentrating on the field gradient instability. We then find that our calculations for the sphere are in very good qualitative agreement both with a local analysis and with the predictions from the results of the cylindrical geometry. We have thus established the existence of field gradient modes in a realistic (spherical) model and found a sound basis for the study of various other, more complicated, classes of magnetically driven instabilities which will be comprehensively investigated in future work.