The objective of this research is nonlinear thermal convection in layers heated from below. The goal of the research is the elucidation of basic mechanisms in laminar and turbulent convection and their use for the interpretation of observed features in the atmospheres of the Earth and other planets. In particular: 1. To analyze the nonlinear properties of time-periodic convection and its stability characteristics. After earlier research has focussed on traveling wave convection, the attention will be focussed now on the more complex case of oscillatory blob convection. 2. The interaction of convection with a mean shear flow will be extended to the case of a horizontal layer rotating about a vertical axis. 3. Three-dimensional states of convection evolving from the instability of transverse rolls in an inclined layer will be investigated. 4. Steady bimodal convection cells and their instability will be analyzed in the case of asymmetric boundary conditions. 5. The numerical study of convection in rotating spherical fluid shells will be extended to higher Taylor- and Rayleigh numbers.
